On the occasion of the presentation of the IV report of the Asteo Observatory “Overview of the Digital Environment and Quality of Life in Rural Spain“ at the European Commission’s representation office in Madrid, a meeting took place to discuss the use of connectivity in rural areas. Participants included Luis Muñoz López, head of indicators at the National Observatory of Technology and Society, ONTSI, of Red.es; Jon Guinea, public policy manager at Amazon Spain; and Pedro Abad, CEO of Asteo Red Neutra, moderated by Pilar Bernat, a technology journalist specializing in new technologies.
The meeting also featured special interventions by Elena Galindo Ayuso, Deputy Director General of Operators and Digital Infrastructures at the State Secretariat for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, and Beatriz Alvargonzález-Largo, economic counselor at the European Commission’s representation office in Spain; with the presence of Antonio García Vidal, president of AOTEC.
Digitalization for Sustainable Development, Territorial Cohesion, Entrepreneurial Culture, and Equal Opportunities
In her welcoming remarks, Beatriz Alvargonzález-Largo highlighted Spain’s strong positioning in connectivity and emphasized that digitalization “must serve as a lever for sustainable development, territorial cohesion, entrepreneurial culture, and equal opportunities.” She invited attendees to “leverage the deployed infrastructures to foster digital talent in rural areas, to promote projects that transform territories, to definitively close the digital divide, and to ensure that no citizen is excluded based on their place of residence.”
Public-Private Collaboration to Reduce the Digital Divide
For her part, Elena Galindo Ayuso highlighted in her opening speech that public-private collaboration in Spain has been crucial in reducing the digital divide, as well as the direct efforts made by the administration, which through various programs has made more than €1.7 million available to telecommunications operators to promote network deployment. The result: “the difference in ultra-fast broadband coverage between rural areas and the national average has decreased from 44 points in 2013 to only 12 points in June 2024, reaching rural coverage close to 82%. According to the European DESI index (Digital Economy and Society Index), Spain ranks second in FTTH fiber technology coverage, with almost 95% of households.”
Galindo Ayuso also emphasized that this deployed technology is “what will enable us to achieve the gigabit connectivity goal for all households by 2030; a goal established by the European Commission within the digital decade strategy.”
The deputy director cited reports from the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) demonstrating that “public aid has been decisive in connecting the territory in beneficiary municipalities. Fiber optic penetration in these municipalities is ten points higher compared to those that did not receive aid, and competition has improved with the dominant operator’s market share seven points lower in subsidized areas.”
Galindo Ayuso acknowledged the “fundamental role of local operators, several hundred in our country, who with their proximity and knowledge of the territory have contributed to improving connectivity in their communities and areas of influence. From the Directorate of Telecommunications Operators and Digital Infrastructures, we want to give visibility to all telecommunications operators, large and small, that offer broadband services in every corner of Spain.”
Rural Connectivity: Current Status, Local Impact, and Technological Challenges
Pilar Bernat, a journalist specializing in new information and communication technologies, moderated the panel “Connectivity and Entrepreneurship in Rural Areas” and structured the meeting into three thematic rounds: current state of connectivity and perception of rural digitalization; impact on daily life and the local economy; and a look to the future, challenges, and technological governance.
Below are some excerpts from the topics discussed during the meeting.
Evolution of Connectivity and Citizen Perception
(Pilar Bernat): Spain is about to complete the extension of fiber optics throughout the territory… What is your assessment of the coverage achieved, especially in rural areas, after four years of deployment?
(Pedro Abad, Asteo): “Spain is a success story, not only at the European level, but even globally. We have 95% fiber coverage in Spain; which is remarkable, considering that the European average is 74%. But it is true that if we talk about rural areas, we are at 84-85%. The 12% of the population residing in rural areas is mostly already connected by fixed means. Additionally, there are alternative public aid programs with complementary technological solutions.”
“At Asteo, we are still building. There are still some villages to connect, but they are now very remote, and more than entire villages, they are small developments, small hamlets, very isolated areas.”
“We see that connectivity has evolved. The glass is half full. There is still work to be done… it is not only user connectivity, but now also the connectivity of the business fabric. And that leads us to another conversation about other types of long-distance infrastructures, data transport.”
(Pilar Bernat) At ONTSI, you study household panels. Can you explain how citizens, especially in rural areas, perceive the incorporation of technology into their lives?
(Luis Muñoz López, ONTSI): There is a report we produce annually called Digital Society, in which we try to go a little beyond the usual questions about use and access. In the latest report, in addition to knowing whether coverage reaches them or not, we asked them about their perception of service quality and specifically, whether they perceive that the Internet connection they receive at home and on mobile is good or not. The perception of 80% of citizens in rural areas is of good quality.”
“If we look at other topics, there is a very considerable portion of citizens in rural areas, 64.3%, who perceive that communication and administrative services have improved and become more efficient. Also, 65% consider that information channels have diversified. In short, they perceive that connectivity provides or produces tangible functional benefits in their daily lives.”
“However, for example, only 22% perceive an impact on cohesion and equality, and this perception is lower in rural areas than in urban areas. Another somewhat negative issue being perceived is information risks. Access to false or manipulable news has increased, and 66.4% believe that the Internet distributes harmful content. All of this leads us to think that media literacy policies are necessary so that citizens know how to identify fake news, know how to navigate, and identify when something is true or not.”
(Pilar Bernat) The reach that Amazon has is very significant. How do you think e-commerce is contributing to driving entrepreneurship and the competitiveness of those companies located in rural areas, which are not always small?
(Jon Guinea, Amazon Spain): For us, the rural sector is key in Amazon’s business development, with nearly 15 operating in Spain, more than 28,000 permanent employees, more than 40 logistics centers, but the most important thing we have is those 17,000 SMEs that sell on Amazon. In Spain, more than half of what Amazon sells belongs to third parties, it is not Amazon’s. And we have conducted an exercise looking at those 17,000 SMEs that are selling in the Amazon store and we have realized interesting things. One of them is that one-third are in rural environments, in municipalities of less than 30,000 inhabitants, a thousand of them operate in municipalities of less than 10,000. And we have gone further. We have tried to understand them, see how they work, how they operate, and we have realized that they have specialized. They rely on a logistics network, which in Amazon’s case is European, and which has allowed them to reach anywhere, which reduces barriers to entry when starting a business. And they also sell more than SMEs located in urban environments, as a result of that specialization and good work. But in addition to selling more, they export. 65% of them export within the European Union and 40% in a purely international scope. Within that export network they rely on, we realize that e-commerce reduces barriers to entry to entrepreneurship, not only in rural areas, where it is clearly seen, but also in other areas, such as female entrepreneurship. There is a whole movement of female entrepreneurs who are starting digital businesses in rural areas that must be valued.”
Digital Well-being, Entrepreneurship, and Strengthening the Rural Fabric
(Pilar Bernat): How does connectivity influence digital well-being, in reducing the isolation of rural areas, which has always been very marked? What lessons do these hyperconnection data teach us to promote healthy use of technology?
(Luis Muñoz López, ONTSI): “For several years we have been working in an OECD expert group that measures the digital economy and society. Not only connectivity, but also how technology impacts people’s well-being. Technology is perceived as something very positive that allows quick access to information from anywhere. Shopping is 80%. Both in rural and urban areas. But there is also 61% who say they would like to spend less time connected. 27% state that it produces mental fatigue or information overload (26%). For 10% it produces social isolation and for 17% it produces anxiety. These are not very alarming figures, but we must be attentive and respond with policies that help people know how to use technology wisely. All of this indicates the need for digital literacy from childhood.”
Technology is perceived as something positive. And in the case of rural areas, I would highlight three important factors: (1) access to opportunities. It allows people to telework and be in a rural environment developing their work activity, but also cultural or health activities. (2) Social cohesion is another of the most important factors of connectivity in rural areas, which allows you to establish social ties and participate in professional networks. And finally, (3) innovation and local development through clusters of the relationship between universities and rural industries or companies. In general, creating an ecosystem between administration, industry, and operators that allows activity to develop in rural areas.
A relevant factor in the analysis of rural areas, such as that carried out by the OECD, is that it clearly distinguishes the impact that proximity to cities has on rural areas. Policies must be different. For example, a village, even if it is small, if it is less than an hour from a city, has more advantages and has other characteristics because it can take advantage of certain economies of scale of cities. In contrast, a village that is larger but very far from everything needs other policies more related to mobility or access to certain services.
(Pilar Bernat) Beyond digitalization in the home, how is fiber beginning to transform access to services, the economic opportunities generated, and the quality of life in general in small municipalities?
(Pedro Abad, Asteo) “I find it very relevant to highlight the importance of the business fabric in rural areas and, therefore, of SMEs. We see that, with indicators measured annually, there is already evolution in use. But the most relevant is in the business sphere. In a conversation I used the expression ‘fixing population‘ and they very correctly corrected me, pointing out that what was important was ‘motivating the population‘. That motivation is often based on having tools, including technological ones, to be able to develop professionally both as an entrepreneur and as a professional, not necessarily, or solely, by starting a business. The social and therefore economic impact is more oriented toward this business and entrepreneurship sphere.”
(Pilar Bernat): What role does collaboration with small businesses, local shops play in ensuring access to products and services in rural areas to strengthen their economy?
(Jon Guinea, Amazon Spain): “For Amazon, its most loyal customers are precisely those in rural environments, because after the Internet connection of a given municipality, that need for digital services begins to be generated. And what we realize is that when suddenly a citizen in a rural area has the possibility of accessing many more products, such as those available on Amazon or other stores, the level of loyalty increases exponentially because for them travel is reduced. Instead of moving five or ten kilometers, the product arrives at their municipality and with it they save time. There are many improvements from incorporating digital services in rural areas, including e-commerce. Amazon does not own the transport network. We are intermediary shippers in the network, but we rely on third parties, who are the ones who deliver and transport the products. These can range from giant operators like Correos, SEUR, collaborators, smaller carriers we work with, who grow and also work for other clients. And here, in that last mile, is where we have to be most creative, because it is the most strained part of the entire network. In urban environments we look for, for example, spaces such as lockers in a kiosk. And in that perspective of trying to be creative, we have gone to rural areas and created a new line called Hub Delivery. A collaborating carrier arrives in a van to a rural municipality and in that municipality they deliver to a shop, a tobacco shop, a bookstore, etc. And it is that entrepreneur, merchant, owner of that establishment who, as an accessory activity, delivers throughout the municipality when their working hours end. We started this as a pilot in Spain for Amazon worldwide, and it has worked phenomenally. Right now there are more than 2,500 shops in this network, more than 900 municipalities.”
It is extra income for customers, movements are reduced, and community spaces are maintained. That is, the dynamics of the municipality.
Future: Major Projects, AI, and Reducing Inequalities
(Pilar Bernat): How can e-commerce act as an element to reduce regional inequality between urban and rural consumers?
(Jon Guinea, Amazon Spain): We believe that technology plays a role in favor of territorial equality in general terms and in reducing territorial gaps, as well as from the point of view of social impact. We look at it with optimism because there are green shoots. There are rural areas that are growing in population. We see a change in trend in some areas of the rural environment and that makes us look at it with hope. We put technology at the service of territorial equality. The communications network is very important to equalize positions, both from the supply and demand point of view. That there is a logistics network that allows delivery on time or allows transport on time is very important to compete and to receive products at the same time. Our data shows that customers in rural areas buy 20% more than customers in urban areas.
(Pilar Bernat): In the deployment of digital services in rural areas, how do citizens perceive the ethical use of technology, including AI, and trust in platforms? What role should regulation play to balance rights ?
(Luis Muñoz López, ONTSI): “In ONTSI’s Digital Society report, we asked citizens what ethical implications they see in the use of artificial intelligence. More than half of the population believes that artificial intelligence is here to improve people’s lives, but at the same time there is concern. Specifically, 43.5% fear the replacement of human creativity in areas such as art or science. 38% perceive that there may be a risk to human rights and other fundamental rights; a third believe they are afraid that there is a lack of transparency or lack of neutrality in the results that artificial intelligences are producing. Technology is not rejected, but citizens demand ethics that are transparent and respectful of digital rights.”
Data Centers in Rural Areas
(Pilar Bernat) The high capacity of fiber optics allows technology companies and certain intensive activities to also develop in locations that are not the usual ones. What conditions must exist to attract these projects, such as data centers?
(Pedro Abad, Asteo): The digital infrastructure part is not as tangible, but it is essential to understand that everything we are discussing in this meeting leads to the same thing: the exponential growth of data.
We are present in the data transport part, but clearly computing is also decisive for rural territory. We are used to seeing big data center announcements in the news, but there is another very important part which is edge computing, which aims to bring computing closer to the point where that data is generated.
As for data centers, they will tend to diversify and establish themselves in different locations. Any telecommunications operator, or of course, local operators can have a data center in the hub where they have established their operation. What does that hub need to be a data center? Well, it needs connectivity, electrical supply, and a business fabric that benefits from that advantage of being able to compute its data and, therefore, data sovereignty, having it in your region.
Positive Digital Autonomy
The meeting concluded with a key reflection: connectivity can now be considered a majority reality in rural areas, and the real challenge begins now. It is necessary to advance toward technological independence that allows any citizen, regardless of age or place of residence, to use technology for their own benefit and that of the community. This advancement will also drive the development of the business and institutional fabric in these areas.
