Spain closes the digital divide with the launch of the UNICO Rural Demand program that extends the broadband connection by satellite in 100% of the territory for 35 € per month

The First Vice-President and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, has participated in the launch event of the Program UNICO Rural Demand and ‘Conéctate35.es’ organized by Hispasat, in Hita (Guadalajara) with which the connectivity gap in Spain is ended.

This program offers the possibility of hiring a connection through the Hispasat satellite of at least 100 Mbps download at an affordable price of 35 euros per month for users, without additional costs and an aid of up to 600 euros for the cost of the installation, with a coverage of 100% of the population in those areas where there is no access to fixed networks of at least 50 Mpbs.

Will bring ultra-fast connectivity to 1.3 million homes and businesses.

Vice-President Nadia Calviño highlighted the importance of the implementation of the program because it allows to achieve the closing of the digital divide between the rural and urban world, the “culmination of a dream” that will mean that “in rural areas they will have the same rights as in cities and citizens will be able to develop their vital and professional projects by accessing digital connectivity, key to social inclusion”.

In this regard, he stressed that the program places Spain at the forefront in connectivity and as a reference country for closing the digital divide in other countries, especially in Latin America, since Spain is “the first European country to achieve high-speed connectivity capacity throughout the territory”, including sparsely populated and remote areas.

“Villages are for connecting, for people to settle and develop their projects, for young people to stay and have opportunities and a vision for the future,” said the vice-president, who stressed the need for digital skills training for citizens.

For this, through the ‘Generation D’ programme, launched together with the autonomous communities and the private sector, more than 622,000 citizens have already been trained in digital skills, with an investment of more than 1.6 billion euros.

In addition to the presence of Vice President Nadia Calviño, the event organized by Hispasat was attended by the President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García Page; the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, María González Veracruz, the Vice-President of the Board, José Luis Martínez Guijarro; the Minister of Sustainable Development, José Luis Escudero; the President of REDEIA, Beatriz Sillo; the President of HISPASAT, Jordi Hereu, and the Mayor of Hayita, among others.

Wideband Connectivity Extension

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, through the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, granted Hispasat aid of 76.3 million euros from Next Generation funds of the Recovery Plan so that through the UNICO Broadband program citizens can hire at a reasonable price the ultra-fast connectivity during the time that the fiber is deployed to all corners of Spain.

With data as of June 30, 2022, 9 out of 10 households and companies in Spain already had access to fixed broadband networks of at least 100 Mbps, and in rural areas, there were 7 out of 10 households and companies. These consolidated data mean that connectivity in the rural area will go from 38% of the population that it represented in 2018 to reach 90% in 2024 thanks to the investments planned and the investment already underway for the deployment of fiber.

Meanwhile, citizens will be able to connect with new satellite service during the time that the UNICO Broadband program completes the deployment of fiber to 100% of the population in 2025.

Citizens can consult more information about the formula to receive the new service and to which operators can be directed in each territory through the web www.Conectate35.es start-up by Hispasat.

Agenda España Digital: support 5G Active Networks and UNICO Broadband

The new UNICO Rural Demand programme is part of the agenda Spain Digital 2026, the roadmap launched by the Government in 2020 to boost the digital transformation of the country with European Next Generation funds and take advantage of the new technologies and opportunities of the new digital economy.

In addition to the UNICO Rural Demand program, last Monday the order of bases for the call for applications was published in the Official State Gazette. supports 5G Active Networks of the UNICO program, which will have a budget of more than 500 million euros to deploy in municipalities of less than 10,000 inhabitants the necessary equipment in 5G services.

The call for the UNICO Broadband 2023 program will soon be launched to continue deploying the fiber and completing the implementation process throughout Spain, for which more than 1,000 million euros of investment have already been mobilized with “tangible results”, according to the vice-president.

Spain has climbed two places in the latest index of the Digital Economy and Society (DESI) produced by the European Commission, ranking seventh among the 27 EU Member States and consolidating itself as the EU's most digitised large country.