Within the framework of the 37th Meeting of the Digital Economy and Telecommunications, which is being held this week in Santander organized by Ametic, the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, María Gonzálezin charge of opening its second day, has confirmed that after this summer a call for aid worth around 500 million of euros to strengthen the deployment of 5G networks in rural areas from Spain.
The total budget for these aids will be between 450 and 500 million, and will be used mainly to help deploy 5G connectivity in towns with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. The call will open at the end of this coming month of September and its aid will be included within the UNICO Program for the deployment of 5G networks. AND
According to González, thanks to the UNICO Rural Demand program, it can be said that Spain is 100% connected with ultra-fast broadband. The government’s plans in this regard have therefore been fulfilled two years ahead of schedule, since they had contemplated achieving it by 2025. The objective has been achieved, in part, thanks to the Connect 35 initiative, which provides satellite connection to any Spain point through Hispasat for 35 euros per month.
Currently, the speed of this Internet service for rural areas is 100MBand it is expected that next year it doubles to reach 200 MB. Of course, González has also recalled that it is a transitory program, which will be underway while the full deployment of 5G in the country is concluded.
These aids will therefore double those of another call with a similar purpose, which are already being used. These were also intended for the purchase and installation of equipment to provide 5G networks to municipalities also below said number of inhabitants. They are all aimed at operators that have the right to use 5G frequencies, so that they have more facilities, and a better disposition, for the deployment of this type of communication networks in areas of dispersed population and in the smallest municipalities of the country. .
