According to estimates by the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure, by the end of 2021 more than 1 million Spanish households will not have 100 Mbps Internet access
With their agreement, both companies are responding immediately to the 100 Mbps connectivity target set by the Spanish government's Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for 100% of the population by 2025
Madrid, 9 December 2021. Eurona, the Spanish multinational expert in connectivity services and solutions for disconnected areas, and Hispasat, the Spanish satellite communications operator of the Red Eléctrica Group, have reached an agreement to extend Internet via satellite up to 100 Mbps in rural Spain in order to bridge the digital divide suffered by a large part of the population.
Both companies are extending their alliance in the provision of satellite connectivity services in Spain in a context in which, according to estimates by the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure, by the end of 2021 more than 1 million Spanish households will not have Internet access of 100 Mbps.
Thus, with their agreement, both companies will offer rural areas a high-speed Internet access solution that immediately meets the 100 Mbps connectivity target set by the Spanish government's Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for 100% of the population by 2025.
This alliance will materialise in the launch by Eurona of a competitive satellite broadband offer throughout Spain with speeds of up to 100 Mbps. In addition, it will not require a registration fee or equipment installation, as the inhabitants of rural Spain will be able to benefit from the Broadband Aid Programme promoted by Red.es, through which individuals or entities in towns with less than 5,000 inhabitants that do not have fixed broadband services with a download speed of more than 10 Mbps will be able to cover up to 400 euros of the costs of acquiring the equipment, its installation and commissioning.
Eurona and Hispasat are thus responding to a real problem suffered by rural environments, where the deployment of terrestrial infrastructure (fibre optic and 5G) is often insufficient. In this way, they are using technology to help alleviate the digital divide - suffered not only by households but also by SMEs - one of the causes that also contributes to reducing depopulation, as it enables the social structuring of the entire territory around digitalisation, the fixation of the population in the rural world and equal rights and opportunities for all citizens.
Precisely, universal coverage and its rapid deployment make the satellite an ideal technological solution for democratising Internet access and taking it to places where other alternatives do not reach. For this reason, last November Hispasat launched a wholesale, neutral and open service that can include telecommunications operators such as Eurona, in order to immediately provide a guaranteed Internet service anywhere in the country.
According to Fernando Ojeda, CEO of Eurona, "this new agreement renews and reaffirms our commitment to bring satellite connectivity and high-speed Internet access to any point of our geography. As we have been doing for 15 years. In addition, our long-standing relationship with Hispasat allows us to stand out for the continuous improvement of our service to our customers, making possible a real leap in quality in the digitisation of empty Spain".
Ignacio Sanchis, Hispasat's commercial director, said: "We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with a company like Eurona, with whom we have a long history of collaboration in the fight against the digital divide in Spain. We are convinced that we are facing a unique opportunity to promote universal connectivity in the Spanish rural territory - not only through access to quality residential Internet, but also through the digitisation of its productive sectors - and we believe that having an ally like Eurona will be fundamental to make this objective a reality".
