Government earmarks 23.3 million euros to bring fibre broadband to remote areas of Andalucía

This aid is essential to fight against depopulation and make rural areas more attractive digital nomads, said the government

EP

Wednesday, 9 August 2023, 15:59

The Spanish government has allocated 23.34 million euros to bring fibre broadband to 54,202 homes and businesses in remote and isolated areas of Andalucía.

The Spanish government delegate in Andalucía, Pedro Fernández, said, "This allows further progress in the deployment of infrastructure that allows adequate connectivity in 100% of Andalucía and especially in the most remote populations.”

In a press release, the government delegate said he considered this aid "essential in the fight against depopulation, by improving the conditions for local entrepreneurship and making towns more attractive to digital nomads".

This is the third stage of the Unico Broadband programme, launched by the ministry of economic affairs and digital transformation, to extend ultrafast broadband, via fibre optics, to more than 380,000 homes and businesses (76% homes) throughout Spain, of which 54,202 are in Andalucía (83.6% are homes). This technology is capable of providing services of at least 300 Mbps scalable to 1 Gbps, in the areas identified.

This phase of the programme, which follows on from those launched in 2021 and 2022, has a budget of 150 million euros, of which more than 23.3 million euros are earmarked for the Andalusian region, and is aimed at universalising ultrafast broadband coverage via fibre as a tool for social cohesion within the framework of the EU's Covid recovery plan.

Qualified telecommunications operators can submit their applications for contracts until 15 September for the areas identified as eligible and published on the ministry's website as well as in the official state gazette (BOE). Each of the eligible areas includes minimum coverage targets for households and businesses.

The programme continues the work started in 2013 with the Next Generation broadband extension programme (PEBA), which has contributed to placing Spain among the leading countries in the EU in the deployment of high-capacity networks with better connectivity.