Connectivity as a tool against depopulation at #FTTH23.

Events

Asteo Red Neutra‘s CEO, Pedro Abad, and Manuel Garnelo, the company’s CTO, participated in different panels at the #FTTH23 European Conference held in Madrid. Both highlighted the importance of connectivity as a tool to fix population in rural and ultra-rural environments.

ASTEO Red Neutra, in its role as the first wholesale neutral operator specialized only in rural areas, shared during this conference its experience in the deployment of last generation fiber optic in municipalities with less than 1,000 inhabitants in Castilla León and Extremadura.

“Spain has been a pioneer and stands out in Europe for its rapid deployment of fiber optics. However, the pending task, and the challenge, is to become the country with the largest number of rural areas with fiber optic networks in the world. FTTH Conference ASteo Red Neutra ManuelIt is important to work with these municipalities and local authorities to help encourage the adoption and use of new technologies by their residents. It is important to work with these municipalities and local authorities to helpencourage the adoption and use of new technologies by their residents, as this is a fundamental tool to help fix this populationand digitize their habits as consumers and users of the Administration and other public services. ” Pedro Abad said during his speech at the workshop “FTTH network deployment in rural areas“.

The panel, formed by Alexandra Reich, executive chairwoman of Speed Connect Austria; Mariam Sulaberidze, CEO of OpenNet; Peter Hendrick, CEO of NBI (National Broadband Ireland); Wojciech Dziomdziora, general counsel of Nexera; and moderated by Christof Sommerberg, senior vice president public affairs at Deutsche Glasfaser Holding and member of the board of FTTH Council Europe; agreed on the importance of deploying in rural areas, but above all to promote and contribute to the use of fiber optics as one of the technologies that will best support future connectivity needs.
The challenges of investing in rural broadband infrastructure

Manuel Garnelo, CTO of Asteo Red Neutra, who participated in the panel dedicated to “Investment in rural broadband infrastructure“, summarized the 4 keys to take into account when designing and planning theFTTH Conference Asteo Red Neutra deployment projects, and especially the backhaul, such as the 1,900km interprovincial to connect the 500 ultra-rural populations, with XGS-PON technology, of the first phase of deployment that the company is carrying out. In particular, he stressed the importance of “conducting studies of all possible alternatives prior to construction; carrying out careful planning considering all possible solutions; having alternative routes where possible; working in parallel two construction zones and modifying access deployment plans depending on the results of the backhaul“.

The FTTH Conference, organized by the FTTH Council Europe, is one of the most representative events of the fiber optic sector in Europe and brings together the main companies of this industry, such as technical experts, suppliers, investors, operators and regulatory bodies.

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Patricia Moreno Pacheco

Deployment Manager Director

Trained as an architect at the University of Seville and with international experience after her studies at the Leibniz Universität Hannover, she has a multidisciplinary technical profile. He stands out for his analytical capacity and leadership in telecommunications infrastructures, providing a highly consolidated strategic vision.

Her career began in civil architecture, working as a Municipal Architect and energy certifier. In 2017 she oriented her career towards the telco sector by joining Nokia as FTTx Network Design Engineer. For five years, he participated in large multinational deployments for operators in the USA, Italy, Chile, the Philippines and Germany. Later, at Inelcom, he took over team management and implementation support for the German UGG network, mastering the construction and last mile phases. All this international supervisory experience brought her to Asteo Red Neutra in 2023, where she manages field operations as Deployment Manager.

Away from blueprints and fiber optics, he is an active person who likes to enjoy his free time. He is passionate about climbing, paddle tennis and traveling, always looking for new environments to disconnect.

Laura Díaz

Marketing & Communications Director

With 20 years of experience, Laura has developed the communication strategy for national and international companies. Since the official launch of ASTEO Red Neutra, she has led its communication and content strategy as an external consultant, until her incorporation to the team.

She started her career as a journalist in the IT sector. She specialised in Communication, advising companies in various sectors (banking, asset management, private equity, insurance and insurtech or telecommunications). She led Evercom's Financial Communication department, in charge of the area's growth strategy and the management of the team and clients.

She graduated in journalism from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, in Venezuela, took the ABC-UCM master's degree in journalism, and complemented her education with studies in International Business at Dublin Business School, and sustainability at the University of Cambridge.

Married to Santi, she is the mother of two children and, whenever she has some free time, she loves going swimming and to the cinema or enjoying long dinners with friends.