Spain embarks on €4 billion connectivity drive
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Spain embarks on €4 billion connectivity drive

Spain network NEW .jpeg

The Spanish government is to invest €4.3 billion on 5G and broadband by 2025 as it extends services to rural areas and boosts digitalisation.

The commitment, reported by Reuters, will support the continued deployment of 5G technology, as well as broadband coverage, with a deadline of mid-decade.

Spain has already earmarked €883 million to extend broadband to rural areas in its 2021 budget and parliament is set to approve those funds in the coming weeks.

Government spokesperson Maria Jesus Montero, told media: "The goal is that everyone, regardless of where they live, enjoys the benefits of these advances in connectivity under a plan which is particularly relevant for rural Spain."

In July, Telefónica pledged to deliver fibre broadband to "100% of Spain by 2025" as part of what it called “the digital reinvention” of the country post Covid-19.

Telefónica’s chairman, José María Álvarez-Pallete, said at the time: “We know the importance of the challenge. It is time to move from theories to facts for reconstruction; from the macro to the micro, so aid can reach people as soon as possible. We must be ready to take Europe's outstretched hand.”

The company added that it is committed to ensuring  fibre optics will cover 100% of the country by 2025, and that it intended “to be a leader in the implementation of 5G technology. This is Telefónica’s service commitment to reactivating the economy and rebuilding life.” Álvarez-Pallete did not put a cost on the 100% fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) project, or suggest the costs to customers. 

On the 5G side of things, Nokia and Ericsson won equipment contracts with Telefónica earlier this year.

 

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