Bringing connectivity to rural areas with very low population density continues to be one of the biggest technological and social challenges in Spain. An effort that combines institutional commitment, technological innovation, and public-private collaboration, as was evident during the participation of Elena Galindo Ayuso, Deputy Director General for Telecommunications Operators and Digital Infrastructures at the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function, along with journalist Pilar Bernat and Pedro Abad, CEO of Asteo Red Neutra, in the special edition of the podcast “Connecting Rural Areas to the World”, which took place during the Aotec25 Fair, held at IFEMA.

Meeting with Elena Galindo Ayuso. Spain leads in fixed and 5G network deployment thanks to institutional commitment and European funds.

“The challenge is enormous, but we are tackling it with great commitment and enthusiasm,” said Galindo, who highlighted the crucial role played by state aid in compensating for the significant investment required to deploy in these areas. “Bringing connectivity to areas where there doesn’t seem to be a business case to justify deployment costs” requires public subsidies to close that “profitability gap” and make it possible to extend networks where the market alone would not reach.

Spain has been the first country to meet, two years ahead of schedule, the European Union’s goal of guaranteeing a minimum connection of 100 Mbps for the entire population before 2025.

The goal for 2030, however, is even more ambitious: “that all homes have gigabit connectivity and that all populated areas have 5G coverage”. In terms of fixed connectivity, Spain maintains a leading position. “We have 86% coverage in rural areas, which is about 27 percentage points above the European average for rural area coverage”.

In the 5G field, progress is more recent. “We want to promote quality 5G coverage,” Galindo explained, detailing that specific programs have been launched for rural areas. “Last year we had nothing, and now for 2024, rural areas have 12% standalone 5G.”

Pedro Abad reinforced the optimistic vision, highlighting that “Spain is a rural country. More than 60% of municipalities have fewer than one thousand inhabitants.” This territorial reality makes infrastructure development even more relevant. “The development of fiber will contribute significantly to the progress of the rural world,” he affirmed. Asteo Red Neutra has already deployed more than 2,400 km of network, which is beginning to facilitate the connection of antennas with fiber optics, an essential requirement for quality 5G to arrive.

Abad emphasized the importance of the Spanish model, not only from a technological but also a structural point of view: “One of the reasons why Spain holds this leadership position is also due to the role played by local operators.” He highlighted the work of operators with more than 40 years of experience, many of them present in rural areas, and the emergence of neutral networks as an innovative model. “A neutral network is nothing more than an infrastructure deployed to democratize access to this infrastructure, providing wholesale access”.

The participation of the private sector has been possible thanks to an open design of public calls for tenders. “We try as much as possible to make it sufficiently open so that all operators, regardless of their size, can participate,” Galindo explained.

European funds have been decisive. “Without these European funds, we would not have reached where we are. They would not be covered solely by private initiative,” Galindo remarked, referring in particular to the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan with Next Generation funds, of which Spain has allocated between 27% and 28% to digitalization. “We have a significant volume in the form of subsidies, around 4 billion.”

This funding has enabled the development of multiple initiatives, all aimed at rural areas. “The Único 5G Backhaul program to provide fiber to radio stations, the 5G Active Networks program to equip towers in municipalities of less than ten thousand inhabitants with active equipment, or the Único Rural Demand program,” Galindo enumerated. “The Rural Demand program and the 5G Active program have been a real revolution for the European Commission. They are holding us up as a model for the rest of the countries.”

Spain, thanks to the joint efforts of public administrations, local operators, and neutral networks, is moving steadily towards universal and quality connectivity, also in rural areas.