How will your internet connection improve by law from January?

Slow home internet could soon become a thing of the past, whether you live in a provincial capital or a small village. From January, a new law will require internet service providers to guarantee a minimum download speed of 100 megabits per second (Mbps), up from the current ten megabits per second.

The change comes under a royal decree regulating the universal telecommunications service and marks a major step towards closing Spain's digital divide, particularly in rural areas. The aim is to ensure that everyone, regardless of where they live, can access broadband internet and fixed-line telephone services that meet minimum quality standards.

The first major change concerns connection speeds. Customers will no longer have to rely on what providers are willing or able to offer: companies must meet a legally established minimum.

"Customers who already have a faster connection will not see their speeds increase. But those who currently have a slower connection should benefit from a faster service," Carlos III University Professor Ana García Armada says.

Meeting the new requirement should not be difficult in cities. But can providers extend the same service to more remote communities?

In rural areas, fibre-optic broadband reaches just 88.95 per cent of households, compared with a national average of 95.92 per cent, according to the latest coverage report for Spain.

The new regulation takes a firm approach: all operators, not just Telefónica as under the previous rules, will have to upgrade or replace their technology and infrastructure to meet the requirements.

Does this mean providers will have to install more fibre-optic cables and extend their networks? Or will fibre broadband be the only option for people living in Spain's so-called 'emptied-out' rural areas?

García points to another way of bringing speeds above 100 Mbps to remote communities: mobile networks.

"In rural areas, 5G coverage stands at 96.13 per cent," she says. However, she warns that not all 5G frequencies can deliver speeds of 100 Mbps. Coverage on the 3.5GHz band, which works best for these connection speeds, barely exceeds 64 per cent.

Satellite networks offer another way to bring faster internet to remote areas. The best-known provider is Elon Musk's Starlink, but other public and commercial services also cover Spain and could help improve connectivity in second homes, country properties and rural apartments.

"Hispasat provides residential and small-business services through the government’s Conéctate35 programme, offering download speeds of 200 Mbps," the expert explains.

Making faster internet a legal requirement is undoubtedly an important step towards narrowing the digital divide. But there is another question that matters to everyone: what will this obligation mean for our household bills? Will we end up paying more for the improved service?

The answer is no. According to figures from Spain's CNMC (national commission for markets and competition), 97.1 per cent of internet lines in Spain already offer speeds above 100 Mbps.

What is more, the royal decree requires all operators to offer discounts of at least 25 per cent on their tariffs to low-income customers.

"The proposal aims to extend these reduced tariffs to a larger group than the one currently covered. Potential beneficiaries would include people receiving the minimum living income, which currently supports almost 800,000 households."

Ultimately, beyond the figures and regulations, people will notice the difference in the small details of everyday life. Working from home without video calls cutting out, streaming a film on a Sunday afternoon or keeping a connected home running smoothly should become just as straightforward in a city centre as in a rural house.

A reliable baseline for home internet speeds promises to make daily life a little more comfortable.

There is a saying that where there is a law, there is a loophole. In the case of the royal decree governing the universal telecommunications service, the aim is precisely to protect consumers and prevent companies from exploiting gaps in the rules.

Those who drafted the regulation have anticipated that providers might try to rely on the small print to supply internet speeds below the legally required 100 Mbps.

From January, companies may still advertise a maximum speed, one that they can only achieve under ideal or exceptional conditions, but contracts must explicitly state two other key figures: the "normally available" speed and the "minimum" speed.

The minimum speed is the lowest speed the operator undertakes to guarantee at all times. The "normally available" speed is the one customers can expect to receive most of the time, although not necessarily every time.

 

From January, the minimum contracted speed must be 100 Mbps, without exception. However, the actual performance of equipment inside the home is a separate matter.

"Although the latest wi-fi standards (802.11ac, 802.11ax and IEEE 802.11be) can comfortably exceed 100 Mbps, connection speeds may be limited if people use particularly old devices," Professor Ana García Armada warns.

Internet speeds can also suffer when too many people connect to the same network or when users are too far away from the router.

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