MasOrange invertirá 14 millones para llevar 5G a Cantabria rural
The operator MasOrange will invest a total of 14 million euros until the end of 2026 to bring 5G to almost all of rural Cantabria, a deployment that will benefit 75 municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants and includes interventions in 153 mobile stations.
MasOrange’s CEO, Meinrad Spenger, conveyed this on Thursday to the President of Cantabria, María José Sáenz de Buruaga, in a meeting they held to discuss the progress in deploying 5G networks in the region under the UNICO 5G-Active Networks aid program, as well as the projects the company is carrying out to contribute to the socio-economic progress of the region.
The UNICO 5G-Active Networks program, whose objective is the provision of mobile communications services with 5G technology, is funded by the European Union Recovery Fund – NextGenerationEU, within the framework of the Government’s Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan.
Also present at the meeting were the Industry Councilors, Eduardo Arasti, and Fomento, Roberto Media, and, on behalf of MasOrange, the Director-General of Regulation, Public Affairs, and Sustainability, Luz Usamentiaga, and the Manager of Institutional Relations in the Northern Zone, Óscar Aragón, as reported by the regional government.
Buruaga thanked MasOrange for its commitment to improving telecommunications in Cantabria, which translates into «extraordinary investments» that help bridge the digital divide that still exists in some areas of the autonomous community.
The president added that this project aligns with her government’s goal of providing improved connectivity to all citizens and municipalities in Cantabria and, at the same time, promoting rural development and combating depopulation, which is one of the priorities of her administration.
On their part, MasOrange representatives thanked the regional government for their collaboration in the successful deployment, which will allow almost all Cantabrian citizens and businesses to benefit from the «enormous advantages» provided by the latest telecommunications networks, even in rural areas.
In this regard, Meinrad Spenger emphasized to the president the importance that the company places on reducing the digital divide in rural areas across the country and in Cantabria.
500 MILLION INVESTMENT IN THE COMMUNITY
In the context of this meeting, MasOrange’s commitment to the socio-economic and technological development of Cantabria has been highlighted, with over 500 million euros of accumulated investment throughout the trajectory of Orange and MASMOVIL in the region, mainly aimed at developing the best telecommunications infrastructures.
Thanks to this, MasOrange now has more than 600,000 homes and businesses connected in the community with the «most modern fiber optic» in Spain, covering almost all properties in the territory.
Regarding mobile telephony, this company already reaches almost 100% and 97% of the Cantabrian population with its 4G and 5G technologies, respectively.
MasOrange’s investment in Cantabria will increase in the next three years by an amount close to 50 million euros, which will be used to expand and optimize these telecommunications infrastructure deployments, as well as to develop new services.
MASORANGE IN CANTABRIA
Through its various brands, MasOrange provides services in Cantabria to more than 340,000 customer lines (both individuals and businesses), with around 262,000 mobile and over 78,000 fixed broadband lines.
Additionally, Orange won the telecommunications tender for the Cantabrian health service in 2022 and for ICASS (Cantabrian Institute of Social Services) with the teleassistance program.
Furthermore, the company is working on projects related to the application of Big Data in tourism with the Santander City Council.
An additional example is the data center installed in Santander in 2022. From this center, which involved an investment of over 4.5 million euros and occupies an area of 1,300 square meters in the Candina industrial estate, mobile, fixed, and television services provided by MasOrange in Cantabria and neighboring areas are managed.
One aspect the company is focusing on is digital skills training to reduce the technological gap in the population, offering a wide range of free courses aimed at empowering citizens in the use of digital tools and technologies.
Specifically, in Cantabria, in collaboration with the regional government, at least 30 courses will be conducted as part of the ‘All to Learn’ project, which is part of the Generación D initiative, promoted by Red.es, with funding from the Next Generation European Funds.
