The subdelegate of the Government in Lugo, Isabel Rodríguez, today highlighted the impact of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the Government in the province with an investment of 22.5 million euros, through the Program of Universalization of Digital Infrastructures for Cohesion (UNICO), to provide ultra-fast broadband extension to 84,500 homes and companies of the 67 municipalities of the province, “with the objective of connecting Lugo with the world as a means to fix population, the creation and maintenance of jobs and progress in the face of the demographic challenge.”
Isabel Rodríguez met this morning in the Subdelegation with the heads of Telefónica in Galicia, Paula Rodríguez and Patricia Rodiño, to learn about the progress of the works that this company develops for the deployment of optical fiber in the province of Lugo under this state plan.
The subdelegate reported that the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation is advancing the objective of providing connectivity to rural areas in the province with the first call for aid from the UNICO-Broadband Program, awarded by Telefónica, which dedicates 10.2 million euros to finance projects in 64 municipalities in the province of Lugo. To this amount must be added another 12.3 million from the second line of the UNICO-Broadband program, awarded in the province of Lugo to the company Adamo Telecom, with which it will develop actions that will benefit the 67 municipalities of Lugo.
With the first call for this program, the company Telefónica has already done all the engineering and design work, and right now it is executing the optical fiber in the municipalities of the province to reach the more than 10,300 areas, where 45,500 homes and companies are located. “With these new implementations in the province, the universalization of access to new generation telecommunications throughout the territory is being completed,” said Isabel Rodríguez, who added that this Plan “is also an example of collaboration between the public and private sectors, since the implementation of the projects is carried out by companies in the telecommunications sector.”
The subdelegate recalled that this aid program is based on the commitment of the Government of Pedro Sánchez to bring broadband to the entire province. “We are going to reach the more than 25,000 uncovered areas of the 67 municipalities of the province so that the neighbors and neighbors have a fundamental service,” said Isabel Rodríguez. In addition, he highlighted this state initiative “which responds to a demand from citizens, especially people living in rural areas, to which we guarantee high-speed Internet connection, within the Government’s line of work to combat depopulation.”
In this way, the two calls of the UNICO Program will allow, with funds from the Recovery Plan, the provision of broadband of at least 100 megas to practically the entire territory. The objective is that in 2025, the year in which the Plan ends, 100% of the municipalities, not only in the province, but throughout Galicia, have a broadband connection.