- The authorization provides for grants worth 150 million euros for deployment in the so-called “white areas”, without current coverage or planned by operators
- The objective is to ensure that 93.5% of the population has access to the Internet with a speed greater than 100 Mbps in 2021
- The grants are part of the Plan for the deployment of digital infrastructures foreseen in the Change Agenda
The Council of Ministers today authorized the granting of aid for the realization of extension projects of the latest generation broadband networks, greater than 100 megabits per second (Mbps), charged to the New Generation Broadband Broadband Program (PEBA-NGA). The call for aid worth 150 million euros It will be carried out by the Ministry of Economy and Business by resolution of the Secretary of State for Digital Advancement.
The objective of the PEBA-NGA is to accelerate the extension of the coverage of very high speed broadband networks, supporting their deployment in areas without current coverage or planned by operators in the next three years, called white areas. The deployment of this type of networks is mainly carried out in our country with fiber optic technology to the home.
The call for aid is aligned with the Plan for the deployment of digital infrastructures foreseen in the Change Agenda for the promotion of scientific and technological progress. The Plan plans to complete the deployment of ultra-fast broadband networks, with access capacity greater than 100 Mbps, to facilitate the digital transformation of the economy and society. The high capillarity of very high speed broadband networks will also be key for Spain to continue leading the deployment of 5G networks and infrastructures in Europe.
PEBA-NGA is a multiannual program. Since 2013 he has financed, with almost 350 million euros of public aid, projects to bring fiber to about five million homes and business premises, in more than 7,600 singular population entities medium and small size that previously had no coverage. The total investment mobilized with these projects amounts to about 700 million euros.
More extensive fiber optic network
Spain currently has the largest fiber optic network in Europe. 80% of the population already had internet coverage with a speed of over 100 Mbps in mid-2018. Once the projects currently underway are completed, this coverage is estimated to be around 89% of the citizenship.
With the new call for aid that the Council of Ministers authorized today, it is expected that in June 2021 almost two million two hundred thousand more citizens benefit from very high speed broadband, so that coverage reaches 93.5% of the population.
The global budget of the PEBA-NGA for the 2019 call is 150 million euros. The aid, which will be granted under a competitive competition regime, combines 25 million euros from the General State Budget and 125 million euros from the ERDF Community funds.
