Is it possible to telework from rural areas?

Asteo Observatory

The extension of teleworking accelerated in 2020 and 2021 due to confinements. According to INE data, cross-checked by epdata, in our country the percentage of employed people who work from home more than half of the days more than half of the days increased from 4.8% in 2019 to 10.8% in 2020 and 9.5% in 2021. Data for 2022 are not yet available, but it is likely to remain well above the figure reached three years ago. What is the percentage of teleworkers in rural areas with less than 10,000 inhabitants?

Currently in Spain, areas with less than 10,000 inhabitants account for 20% of the population, although they represent 90% of the total number of municipalities (INE). Therefore, areas with few residents proved to be idyllic during the pandemic, as long as they were provided with the necessary services, such as high-speed Internet via fiber optics.

Fiber Internet coverage in rural areas is 66% (FTTH Council Europe. FTTH/B in Rural Areas 2022 ), so it is not always possible.

What is teleworking like in rural areas with Internet?

According to data collected by the ASTEO Observatory, in rural areas of less than 10,000 inhabitants, which do have Internet access, 25% of workers, i.e. 1 in 4, can telework. Although a significant part of the work in these municipalities requires presence, the increase in fiber deployments that are being carried out in these areas will undoubtedly contribute, or at least should encourage, the growth of teleworking.

It is clear that in order to be able to work remotely from rural areas, and anywhere, it is important to have high upload and download speeds, connection stability and low latency. For rural areas, the outlook for the coming years is positive. In 2025, according to the objectives set by the Digital Spain Agenda, 100% of the population should be able to access 100Mbps coverage. This is why the work being done by telecommunications operators, such as ASTEO Red Neutra, with its deployments in rural areas, is relevant, as it will accelerate the extension of fiber optics in territories known as Empty Spain.

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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.