ZTE and the Emerging Role of Data Centers in Rural Spain

General

“Asteo Conecta” Session at the XVII Aotec Fair. ZTE Presentation

 

Decentralizing the Future

 

Mariano Almagro, Sales Director at ZTE, shared during the “Asteo Conecta” sessions, held at the Asteo booth at the XVII Aotec Fair, the vision of this company specializing in telecommunications equipment and network solutions, regarding the data center market and the factors that could represent an interesting opportunity for rural areas to be chosen for their deployment, once they have the necessary connectivity infrastructure.
Rural environments could host different types of data centers in the near future and gain importance as an alternative to urban centers, provided they meet a series of conditions.

 

Mariano Almagro, Commercial Director of ZTE

 

Mariano Almagro highlighted the growing demand for data centers, partly due to the advancement of artificial intelligence and the need for greater data storage and processing capacities, forecasting that Europe will double the number of data centers in the coming years.

In this context, rural environments offer an underexplored territory: They leverage advantages such as the availability of inexpensive industrial land, proximity to energy production centers (both hydroelectric and renewable), plus the existence of optical connectivity. “We believe these areas can become a very suitable choice for their installation.”

“We are at the beginning of the artificial intelligence era, and we are deploying the necessary platforms for it, which require tremendous storage and processing capabilities,” Almagro noted during the presentation.

“Spain has a series of characteristics that are ideal for becoming a data center powerhouse. We have the most extensive fiber optic infrastructure in Europe, we are a landing point for submarine cables, we have availability of very competitively priced industrial land, we have possibilities for renewable energy to be produced in sufficient quantity to achieve carbon neutrality, all of which makes our country an ideal place for the installation of these data centers,” Almagro stated.

Data Centers Beyond Madrid and Barcelona

However, the concentration of data centers in Madrid, which hosts half of these centers in Spain, and Barcelona remains a challenge. Almagro advocated for decentralizing this infrastructure, taking advantage of opportunities in other Spanish regions. He pointed out that the cost of industrial land and the availability of renewable energy are key factors in choosing their location.

“Why don’t we move these data centers outside of large urban centers? It is true that there is a latency requirement, but only for some services that would remain in data centers close to the end-user,” Almagro explained.

Almagro also addressed the need for qualified technical personnel to manage these data centers, proposing solutions such as local training and teleworking. Furthermore, he highlighted the case of China, which has implemented an ambitious data center distribution plan to balance regional development between east and west to avoid energy transport and develop the country’s more depressed western areas.

In 2022, China announced its plan called “Eastern Data, Western Computing”, which is currently underway. Today, 80% of its data centers are located in areas with high population concentration, in the east. The plan aims to build 8 computing hubs, 5 of which will be installed in the west, while services requiring low latency will remain in the 3 hubs to be installed in the east, near Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong. Services that do not require such low latency are moved westward.

What are the advantages of locating a data center in a rural area?

In this regard, and according to the presentation by Mariano Almagro, the strengths of rural areas as data center locations are: availability of industrial land (rural areas often offer industrial land at a lower cost, facilitating the installation of large-scale data centers); proximity to energy production centers; fiber optic connectivity: “Despite being far from urban centers, rural areas can have a fiber optic infrastructure like the one developed by Asteo, which allows for reliable and high-speed connectivity.”

Furthermore, locating data centers in rural areas contributes to decentralizing technological infrastructure and economically developing these areas.

ZTE Solutions

Given future prospects, Almagro mentioned some of the solutions developed by ZTE, such as servers with high-density graphics processing cards, all-flash memory servers, internal communication solutions between servers of up to 800 Gbps, as well as the use of liquid coolant like Ice Cube with in-rack coolant to reduce energy consumption in data center cooling.

 

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Patricia Moreno Pacheco

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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.

David Moreno Llorente

Director of Network Infrastructure and IT Systems

With more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications sector in Spain, David has developed a solid track record of technical and operational excellence. His profile stands out for a clear focus on continuous improvement, results-oriented management and team management and development.

His career began in 1998 at UFINET, where for more than two decades he evolved professionally to consolidate his position as Director of Network Operation and Maintenance. During this period, he led strategic Engineering & Maintenance (E&M) projects, as well as service transformation and outsourcing initiatives, and performed transversal functions in the Operation and Maintenance units of the different countries in which the company operated, contributing to the standardization of processes and the improvement of operational efficiency.

In 2018, following the creation of Lyntia as an independent company from UFINET's infrastructure business, he continued his professional development as Director of the Operation and Maintenance units, both Access and Transport, providing a key strategic vision for the company.

All this experience in critical infrastructure management led him to Asteo Red Neutra in 2024, where he is currently in charge of the operational area as head of the company's Network Infrastructures and IT Systems.

Outside the professional sphere, David disconnects from technology through his passions: rally raids, scuba diving and cooking with his family.

Laura Díaz

Marketing and 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.

Alfonso García

Director of Business Development and Operations

A Telecommunications Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and PDD training at the University of Navarra IESE, he has more than 20 years of experience in Telecommunications in leading companies, leading the development of fibre infrastructures and management work in the commercialisation of fibre optic networks.

He began his experience in the Telecommunications Sector in Engineering, Technology and Deployment Departments of data and fibre networks in companies such as Payma Comunicaciones, Iberdrola Ingeniería y Consultoría and Madritel Comunicaciones. After this first technical stage, he developed his more commercial experience in the Iberdrola Group, taking over the Commercial Management of Iberdrola's Fibre Optic Network for Telecommunications Operators for 15 years. Before joining ASTEO Red Neutra, he was an advisor to CableRunner Iberica’s president and Commercial Director of GTD Spain, a Dark Fibre Neutral Operator for National and International Operators and DataCenters in Spain.

Alfonso is convinced of the potential of fibre networks, so he decided to focus his career on this technology from the very beginning.

A father of two, a lover of gastronomy and cooking, he is happy to cook on weekends for his family and friends. In love with skiing in winter and water sports in summer.

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Luis Rodríguez

ASTEO’s CFO and HR Director

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As Chief Financial and Human Resources Officer of SICE Canada Inc, he was responsible for managing the acquisition of capital assets, negotiating financial products with banks and financing entities, preparing and reporting the EEFFs to the parent company and ensuring regulatory compliance, among many other responsibilities.

Luis holds a degree in Economics from the University of Seville and an MBA from the University of Cadiz. In his free time he likes to practise all kinds of sports, especially crossfit and downhill.

Manuel Garnelo

Manuel Garnelo

ASTEO’s CTO and Chief Operating Officer

Responsible for the Engineering and Technology, Deployment and O&M (Operation and Maintenance) Departments. He has more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications sector. Manuel has been responsible for FTTH deployments at Lyntia, Director of the Central Delegation at Verne, Head of FTTH deployments at Ericsson in the Mediterranean region and of the FTTH Centre of Excellence in Spain.

A Telecommunications Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, he is an enthusiast of the right of people to have a broadband connection and of the connected society.

Married to Teresa and father of two daughters, in his spare time he repairs and collects old radios and gramophones: if you have a lamp radio and you want to get rid of it, don't throw it away! He will take care of them. He will take care of them.