Rede Aberta, the leading neutral network company in Galicia, has today inaugurated access to the Fisterra lighthouse (Finisterre, A Coruña) to the Internet via 1 Gbps optical fibre, a milestone that symbolises the company’s ability to connect the most remote places in rural Galicia at speeds identical to those available in cities. “It is possible to reach Finis Terrae with optical fibre, an essential communication infrastructure in the digital age and which, until recently, was thought to be only for large cities and urban environments,” said Pere Antentas, CEO of Rede Aberta. Speaking at the event Connected to the End of the World with Optical Fibre held in the vicinity of the lighthouse, Antentas recalled that Rede Aberta is a company that was founded three years ago and during this period it has worked hard to make it possible for “almost all Galicians to have access to an ultra-fast and secure connection, such as that provided by our optical fibre.” He stressed that it currently has 200,000 housing units installed in 86 municipalities in rural Galicia, for which it had to deploy more than 4 million metres of fibre cable. A growth that has recently been supported by Allianz Global Investors, which “has just backed us with a financing of 50 million euros, which for us means the support of the market, which is betting on and approving our project,” he added.
50G-PON
Pere Antentas pointed out that the company will continue its “efforts” to put the most advanced technology at the service of companies in Galicia and, in particular, those located in rural areas. “We can announce that we have reached a collaboration agreement with Huawei, one of our technology providers, to launch a pilot project to develop the new 50G-PON technology, which means multiplying by 50 the speed of 1Gbps that is currently offered,” he explained. According to him, this is “a pioneering initiative in the European Union and we will launch it in the first quarter of 2024.” The project will be based in Santiago de Compostela, where the biotechnology company hub will be installed, and from which services will also be offered to industrial hubs and companies located in rural areas close to the capital of Galicia.” In this sense, he recalled that Rede Aberta was “a pioneer in deploying XGS-PON technology in rural Galicia“, with the inauguration of the service a year ago in the Ribeira Sacra, and will continue “striving” to “anticipate the needs” that companies will have, since a 37% annual growth in data demand is expected. “It will multiply by 9 from now until 2030,” he added. Galician network of CPDs. For this reason, he pointed out that the company “works side by side with other partners” to create “the CPDs of the Camino“, a network of data processing centers in Galicia, to provide answers to companies, which “demand infrastructures that provide management autonomy, without service interruptions and away from the ups and downs of the city.” of geopolitics”.
Antentas thanked the director of Amtega (Agency for the Technological Modernisation of Galicia), Julián Cerviño, the deputy delegate of the Government in A Coruña, María Rivas, and the mayor of Fisterra, Áurea Domínguez, for their presence. “The collaboration of all the administrations, of the entire Rede Aberta team and of the more than 250 people from the collaborating companies, makes it possible to close the digital divide in rural areas,” he stressed. In this regard, he highlighted that Rede Aberta, the successful bidder for the implementation of the UNICO Plan of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transition in the province of A Coruña, has already executed a third of the 36,550 planned units, which allows it to “have confidence” in reaching 100% before the end of 2024. “We hope to continue with the UNICO 2023 Plan in Pontevedra, if we win the tender we have submitted,” he added.
