Rede Aberta will install 29,134 real estate units (UU.II’s) to provide ultrafast fiber optic neutral service in rural areas in the provinces of A Coruña and Pontevedra, after being awarded the UNICO Broadband 2023 Program of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation to extend fiber in white areas that still do not have an internet connection of more than 100 Mbps. The bankable budget amounts to 15.5 million euros and the estimated public aid is 12.3 million euros, 79.1%. The resolution, of a provisional nature according to the Ministry’s communication, represents the“consolidation” of the Rede Aberta project, which is committed to bringing fiber to rural Galicia from 2020. “It represents a major challenge, because we are committed to meeting the objectives set out in the proposals and because it is to contribute to guaranteeing the digital rights of rural citizens,” as Pere Atentas, CEO of the company, explained. Overall, the UNICO plan awards in the provinces of A Coruña and Pontevedra total 29,134 real estate units (UU.II.’s). In the case of Pontevedra, Rede Aberta’s commitment is to install 18,104 UU.II’s, with a budget of €9.6 million. It is the third province in Spain with the largest investment. In A Coruña, 11,030 UU.II’s will be built, with a budget of 5.8 M€. In this case, the award allows Rede Aberta to complement the work it has been carrying out since January of this year, after being awarded the UNICO 2022 Plan, with a commitment to install 36,556 units. The award to Rede Aberta represents more than 63% of the UU.II’s foreseen in the UNICO plan for all the housing in Galicia. Lugo has 22.2% and Ourense 14.4%, which will be developed by the company Avatel.
Knowledge of Galicia
Pere Antentas explained that the success obtained by Rede Aberta in the competition called by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation is due to “the knowledge of Galicia and the commitment to the rural area“, since it relies on “local companies with great involvement in the regions” in which they carry out their activity. “Without their collaboration it would not be possible to compete with other companies, because they have allowed us to have great knowledge on the ground and quickly resolve possible problems for the deployment of fiber. It is a zero-kilometre economy, because they are local companies that, in turn, have suppliers in their surroundings and the workers are also part of these areas,” said the CEO of Rede Aberta. Pere Antentas highlighted that the workload with these companies “generates an average of 200 indirect jobs“. In addition, he pointed out that the majority of the companies that market Rede Aberta’s neutral fibre are also local, with more than 150 workers and exponential growth in their business figures in the last three years. Thus, he recalled that users must contract the internet service with telecommunications operators, because Rede Aberta only provides neutral network services. It currently has agreements with the operators Áurea Telecom, A Túa Xanela, Evoa, IT Sarria, Itegal, Juifi, Planeta Voz, Eume Telecom, Grelo, Oteuoperador, Pizpireta Telecom, Fibra Rianxo, Redem, MásMóvil (R), Toxo Telecom, Norvoz, Delta Telecom, 7 Play and Fibritel. In addition, Antentas highlighted the commitment of the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF), which in 2020 supported the Rede Aberta project in Galicia, the first action it has undertaken in Spain, and which foresees an investment of up to 121 million euros.
Consolidation deployment
The award of the deployment of the UNICO program in A Coruña and Pontevedra also represents a “boost” for the company’s plans, which expect to reach 430,000 homes in Galicia before 2026 and extend the connection to companies and industrial estates in rural areas, a project that was supported in September by obtaining 50 million euros of financing from Allianz Global Investors (AGI). Pere Antentas pointed out that Rede Aberta maintains its objectives of growing in innovative and disruptive projects such as the launch of XGS-PON technology in rural Galicia, in September 2022, and the upcoming launch of the 50 Gbps symmetrical speed service, whose tests will begin in the first quarter of 2024 in partnership with Huawei. “Our commitment is to eradicate the digital divide with high-capacity fiber so that all citizens and companies in Galicia have the same opportunities and rights regardless of their place of residence,” he explained.
