In this special episode of the podcast “Connecting RURAL areas to the world”, journalist Pilar Bernat interviews Pedro Abad, CEO of Asteo Red Neutra, during the AOTEC Fair held in Madrid to review the market’s evolution, the deployment challenges for the coming years and, in particular, the transformation of rural networks into critical infrastructure for international data transport.
Asteo Red Neutra and the long-distance transport challenge: Interview with Pedro Abad at AOTEC
Looking back at the fair’s own journey, Pedro Abad reflects on how the market has been incorporating new business models: “it is incredible to see how the fair has evolved in step with our sector”. An ecosystem in which the local operator remains the main player, but where the neutral operator has also emerged strongly.
In this context of growth, Asteo Red Neutra is facing a year defined by the implementation of the UNICO programmes and an aggressive expansion plan. With 2027 in sight, the goal is clear: reach “almost half a million connected households over the next two years”.
The strategic focus: long-distance transport
However, fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) deployment is only part of the equation. Asteo Red Neutra’s real qualitative leap lies in its backbone network and transport capabilities, a central topic in the conversation. Starting from an infrastructure of “more than 2,500 kilometres of backbone, more than 700 municipalities”, the company is making a vital technological shift:
“what we are starting to do is equip it with DWDM technology so that it becomes a transport network. In other words, this is not only an FTTH network to provide service in all those municipalities to all those citizens, but it also becomes a network to offer long-distance transport solutions within the areas where we are present.”
This move is a direct response to the Artificial Intelligence revolution and the surge in demand for capacity. The geographic position of the Iberian Peninsula, with Madrid as the epicentre and submarine cable landings in Bilbao and Lisbon, makes it an international data hub:
“Iberia, Spain and Portugal have a privileged geostrategic position as one of the world’s computing vortices.”
All that unstoppable volume of information must be processed and, above all, moved across the territory. As Asteo’s CEO explains: “all that data traffic we generate with this exponential growth in usage, digitalisation and artificial intelligence—everything has to be handled somewhere and it has to be transported.”
Asteo’s solution is to leverage its extensive network in rural Spain to create a vital and unprecedented communications artery:
“we are turning an entirely rural corridor into an alternative long-distance route.”
The perfect symbiosis with the local operator
To conclude, Abad highlighted the “harmony” between this deployment of critical infrastructure and the local operator’s business model. By delegating the physical layer to a specialised neutral network, local companies gain a huge competitive advantage:
“the local operator sees in the neutral network the possibility to expand, to broaden its horizon, without having to incur the very costly investment and operational effort of maintaining the infrastructure that supports its service.”
In this way, “the local operator focuses on its strength, which is closeness and proximity to the customer”, ensuring top-quality service while Asteo ensures that connection can travel across its long-distance routes.
