The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation has published an important provisional resolution: one that will theoretically make it possible to guarantee internet connection to 100% of rural, remote and sparsely populated areas throughout Spain at an affordable price.
100 Mbps at 35 euros per month. End users will thus be able to count on more than decent lines with download speeds of 100 Mbps in all kinds of rural and remote areas. The price is also affordable considering what could be paid in these areas, and according to the Government the price will be 35 euros per month. A dream for “slow Spain”, of course. How will that be accomplished?
Hispasat. Neither fiber, nor ADSL, nor 5G connections. In order to provide broadband coverage to the entire territory, the Government has awarded the contract to Hispasat, the Spanish company that has several telecommunications satellites. Its satellite internet service has been available for years, but now this type of communications will be promoted in those rural and sparsely populated areas.
UNICO Rural Demand Program. This is the name of the project with which aid of 76.3 million euros will be granted to Hispasat, which as the successful bidder “will deploy the necessary infrastructures to provide ultra-fast connectivity to areas throughout Spain where there is no fixed technology coverage to a minimum of 50 Mbps and will provide affordable service of at least 100 Mbps until December 31, 2027.” The UNICo program is included in the Digital Spain 2026 Agenda of the Recovery Plan, which aims for 100% of the population in Spain to have access to networks of at least 100 Mbps by 2025.
Users pay neither discharge nor facilities. The aid granted to Hispasat is distributed in 40.3 million euros for the configuration of the service and the establishment of the platform, and another 36 million to cover the registration of the end user.
Up to 600 euros of aid to end users. Paying for the registration of the end user means subsidizing up to 60 euros in installation costs for the equipment necessary to receive connectivity via satellite. Individuals, the self-employed and self-employed, SMEs, non-profit entities and town halls will be eligible for aid so that they can connect municipal services such as the town hall, the library, firefighter centers or the national police, among others.
And yesterday, a new Hispasat satellite. Precisely yesterday, the Amazonas Nexus, Hispasat’s most advanced satellite, was launched aboard a Space X Falcon 9 rocket. boats. Hispasat’s network cannot compete with the satellite swarms that are being deployed by both SpaceX with Starlink —which also operates in Spain— and Amazon, which also plans to put thousands of these satellites into orbit with its ‘Project Kuiper’. In both cases the coverage wants to be global, while that of Hispasat is limited to the Spanish national territory.
