Pontevedra, June 26, 2024.- The subdelegate of the Government in Pontevedra, Abel Losada, today highlighted the unstoppable progress in the deployment of high-speed internet in the province and recalled that the Government of Spain already guarantees, to this day, the connection to high-speed internet in all rural areas thanks to the UNICO Rural Demand program, which universalizes access to broadband in one hundred percent of the territory through satellite technology where fiber optics do not reach. This was carried out today by the close to 40 mayors, councilors and municipal technicians of the province, in the framework of an information day that took place in the auditorium of the headquarters of the Tax Agency of Pontevedra and that was attended by the manager of Singular Projects of Hispasat, Miguel Ángel García Argüelles. “You can see the sky, you have the Internet” explained Miguel Ángel García Argüelles, while emphasizing that satellite broadband allows 100% coverage of Spain, taking the connection to the most remote areas under equal conditions.
Thus, Hispasat offers a satellite connection with 200 Mbps in the direction of download at a price with a single rate of 35 euros, until December 31, 2027 and without permanence, under the program called “You connect 35”. In addition, he stressed that until December 2025, the Government subsidizes 100% of the installation costs of the antenna, wiring and router, with a ceiling of 600 euros. Abel Losada opened the meeting highlighting the “courageous commitment of the Government of Spain to bring ultra-fast connectivity to 100% of the territory taking advantage of the funds of the Recovery Plan”. “As a result of this unprecedented effort,” he said, “we are already in a position to say that 88.42% of the population of the province of Pontevedra already has optical fiber and the rest, since it is becoming the most difficult and what is no longer economically viable for companies, will have satellite access of the highest quality.”
The public investment in this deployment in the province reaches 40.6 million euros and served for the companies subsidized through the different calls of the UNI-Broadband Plan to mobilize 53.1 million. The operation allowed the fiber to be brought to 154,706 homes and companies in our province. The subdelegate described these figures as “dizzying” but clarified that “the truly important one is that 100% of the territory will be connected thanks to Hispasat”. To achieve this objective, the Government of Spain promoted the UN-Rural Demand plan on which the head of Hispasat, the public company awarded this program, reported in detail, and to whom the subdelegate thanked him for his availability to participate in the information session.
Any user who does not have a minimum fixed terrestrial coverage of up to 50 Mbps can access the satellite connection through Hispasat. In addition, the contracting does not involve any procedures and it is enough to contact one of the six companies that currently operate as Internet service operators through the “technological layer” provided by Hispasat. Once the contract is signed, the average time for installation and commissioning is only 11 days.
The deadline for requesting this service, with the public grant of up to 600 euros for installation costs, will be open until December 2025 through a simple procedure that is carried out through the website www.conectate35.es. Miguel Ángel García Argüelles also stressed that Hispasat is a very useful tool for municipalities, which can hire up to five connections to service municipal premises that do not have fiber. In addition, he said, people and user companies can also hire additional services such as fixed telephony or greater bandwidth.
In this sense, he explained the experience in the province of Ourense, where the high-performance satellite connection is an increasingly frequent solution. The municipal officials present showed great interest in this plan and took the opportunity to resolve different doubts regarding the respect of this and other government connectivity programs. Abel Losada closed the meeting by stressing that “a good internet connection is a basic element to guarantee the survival of small municipalities, because it is a weapon against depopulation”.
For this reason, he thanked the participation of a wide range of municipalities of the province, in a day in which were also the provincial head of Telecommunications Inspection, Tomás Rodríguez, and the general secretary of the Subdelegation, María Isabel Alonso.