The Government launches the new Program to extend ultra-fast broadband to 100% of the Spanish territory (UNICO), with a first call of 250 million euros, the largest in history

13/06/2021
210614_f_unico.png
  • The new Program of Universalization of Digital Infrastructures for Cohesion (UNICO) is the framework for measures and investments that will guarantee the ultra-fast broadband connection throughout the national territory, covering 100% of the population in 2025
  • This first call will be provided with the largest annual budget in the history of broadband programs, 250 million euros. This is one of the investments of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan in the field of connectivity and digitization
  • The new program uses a more granular methodology for the definition of intervention zones, in order to optimize the effective deployment of the ultra-fast connection throughout the national territory
  • This new UNICO Program gives continuity and reinforces the previous Broadband Extension Program (PEBA), whose implementation accelerated in the last three years, allowing an increase of 11 points of ultra-fast broadband coverage, from 76% existing at the end of 2017 to 88% in June 2020

    • The Second Vice-President of the Government and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, has announced that the first call for the Program of Universalization of Digital Infrastructures for Cohesion (UNICO Program) will be endowed with 250 million euros, the largest in history. The new broadband extension program aims to reach 100% coverage of the Spanish population with ultra-fast networks and thus boost territorial cohesion in 2025.




    The Second Vice-President of the Government and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, has announced that the first call for the Program of Universalization of Digital Infrastructures for Cohesion (UNICO Program) will be endowed with 250 million euros, the largest in history. The new broadband extension program aims to reach 100% coverage of the Spanish population with ultra-fast networks and thus boost territorial cohesion in 2025.
    The Program will serve as a framework for other calls and solutions that will facilitate the universalization of ultra-fast broadband access throughout the territory. The associated investments are included in component 15 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (“Digital Connectivity, Cybersecurity Boost and 5G Deployment”), which also provides for the development of special projects to provide connectivity with speeds greater than 100 Mbps in remote rural areas.
    For the development of the UNICO Programme, the Order of Bases has been adapted, which until now governed the programmes to support the deployment of ultra-fast broadband networks, in order to facilitate their financing with funds from the European Union Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. To this end, the validity of the regulatory regulations is extended until 2024.
    The UNICO Program begins the execution of one of the main actions of the Recovery Plan in the area of digital connectivity. The Plan expects an investment of €4 billion to extend connectivity, accelerate the deployment of 5G networks and boost a cybersecurity ecosystem, of which more than €850 million is expected to be invested in 2021.
    The Order of Bases will be published in the coming days, serving as a framework for the launch of a call endowed with 250 million euros for ultra-fast broadband extension. It will be the largest budget call made in the history of broadband programs. It will also be more effective than the previous ones because of the improvements in the identification process of the eligible areas, which have been subjected to public consultation For the first time, based on cadastral plots, instead of singular entities of population. The call will include other significant changes to previous calls for broadband extension, such as changes in the maximum aid intensity, as well as territorial and dispersion considerations.
    From the New Generation Broadband Extension Program (PEBA-NGA) to the Digital Infrastructure Universalization for Cohesion Program (UNICO)
    The Universalization of Digital Infrastructures for Cohesion Program (UNICO) will continue the Next Generation Broadband Extension Program (PEBA-NGA), launched in 2013 and which has placed our country in the leadership in the deployment of ultra-fast broadband.
    According to the latest Report published by the State Secretariat for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure, with data from 2020, 88% of the population already has broadband coverage of 100Mbps, 11 points more than in 2017. When the PEBA-NGA projects granted in the 2020 and 2021 calls are implemented, ultra-fast broadband coverage will reach 92.7% of citizens in Spain.