The Official State Gazette has published the call for aid to provide fibre optic backhaul connection -including active and passive elements- to sites of public mobile telephone networks that do not have such a connection, with the aim of facilitating 75% of the population is connected to 5G in priority bands in 2025.
This aid will make it easier for operators to provide a 5G connection to municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants in 50 provinces, favouring economic development in geographical areas with low population density and promoting access to new services and applications associated with this technology.
The UNICO Redes 5G fibre optic backhaul call is endowed with 450 million euro for the 2022-2023 period and is financed by the Next Generation EU funds. The European Commission authorized this aid in mid-October, stating that it “will help consumers and businesses in rural areas to access high-quality mobile services.”
This aid program for fibre connections to the towers, including active equipment, is aimed at authorized operators throughout the national territory or groups of companies in which there is at least one operator and that present projects that provide the set of backhaul connections in locations of public mobile telephone networks in municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants.
With these financial resources, the beneficiaries will be able to finance investments and expenses associated with the development of the selected project, from infrastructure and civil works to equipment and materials.
The call establishes provincial lots with budgets per province according to the annex, and with an award system that allows several winners per demarcation, with the aim of maximizing the number of aid beneficiaries.
The deadline to apply for these grants extends until 11:59 p.m. on November 14.
About the UNICO Redes 5G program
The Program for the Universalization of Digital Infrastructures for Cohesion (UNICO) serves as a framework for different calls that facilitate the universalization of access to ultra-fast broadband and the extension of 5G.
Under the umbrella of UNICO Redes 5G are those aids intended to promote the deployment of this technology, as well as the services and applications available for 5G in municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants. The announcement that will be published soon is limited to municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants.
