During the XVI Aotec 2023 Technology Fair, María Jesús Cauhé, vice-president of Aotec, and Manuel de la Guía, business development director of Fibritel, participated in the round table moderated by Alfonso García Gómez, commercial director of Asteo, to analyze the advantages that neutral networks offer to local operators.
Neutral networks as an incentive to local operators
Growth opportunity
Alfonso García Gómez (Asteo) began the meeting by explaining one of the main attributes of neutral wholesale networks, such as Asteo’s, which allow interested telecommunications operators, regardless of their size, to offer connectivity services to the end customer, in addition to competing with these companies.
Regarding the benefits for a company like Fibritel of being able to provide its services through Asteo’s ultrafast fiber network, Manuel de la Guía, director of business development, commented on its importance in terms of expanding its reach. “Like all small operators, we try to make a special effort in terms of growth and deployment, but There comes a time when it is economically very difficult to continue growing. It is essential to be able to rely on a neutral network operator such as Asteo in order to expand. . It gives us the opportunity to grow and reach places where it would be absolutely impossible for us to go.”
In this regard, María Jesús Cauhé, vice-president of Aotec, added the importance of “differentiating not only the network investment, but also the operating investment. When you are creating an operator in several networks, it has a cost that also involves an investment. It costs money to build a customer, maintain it and manage it. Therefore, if we manage to distribute part of that initial investment among various players, such as the neutral operator and the network operator, we find that both can cover their investment needs at a given time.
As for the particularity of neutral networks such as Asteo, which do not go to the end customer, Cauhé pointed out that “it provides a guarantee that the customer is the operator and that the network owner will make every effort to make the service work“.
Manuel de la Guía, for his part, also commented on the importance of these networks in favoring competition and benefiting the end customer, as well as promoting the emergence of local operators.
The future of fiber optic networks
Regarding the bandwidth needs expected in the short and medium term, the participants in the round table agreed on the importance of betting on the most advanced technologies such as fiber optic infrastructure to meet current needs and future demand.
“An important basis for any investment is that it should be forward-looking. We never know how we’re going to end up evolving, but we do know that you can’t invest in a technology that is already outdated. And in this case we have to go to an XGPON. If you want to make an investment for the future, it has to be the latest on the market,” said María Jesús Cauhé.
In this sense, Manuel de la Guía added that thanks to fiber it is possible to “reach a whole population that has a real need and provide an answer through technology. Such as a farm in Extremadura or Castilla-La Mancha that needs to collect precise, accurate data at all times in case there is some kind of failure in an irrigation system, in a feeding trough of any type of livestock farm, etc.”.
Siembra Futuro Digital
The launch of the “Siembra Futuro Digital” program by Asteo to encourage the creation of local operators was also discussed during the round table. Alfonso García Gómez gave as an example the situation of some rural areas where there are currently very few operators because, despite having a business fabric, connectivity has been slow to arrive and this has delayed the emergence of companies offering related services.
In addition to welcoming this type of initiatives that promote the emergence of telecommunications companies in rural areas, the Aotec representative emphasized the importance of working for the transmission of knowledge. “What we want is to encourage the transfer of information, experiences and good practices among the associates” to help the development of these entrepreneurs.
For Manuel de la Guía, promoting and facilitating the creation of small local operators is essential in view of the increase in demand for services that will be experienced in rural areas in the future. “Not only to meet the requirements of the retail segment or public administrations, but also everything related to process monitoring, connected towns and cities, sensorization, etc.”.
To conclude the meeting, Alfonso García Gómez highlighted the prospects and the positive scenario for the emergence of local and proximity operators, which over the last few years have demonstrated the success of their business model and for whom the “neutral operator is a necessary traveling companion”.
