The Castilla y León municipality of Magaña wins the Hispasat contest and receives free Internet access for one year

May 29, 2017

Valle de Manzanedo (Burgos) and Aracena (Huelva), along with Magaña, were among the 25 finalists in the #enREDatupueblo contest held by the telecommunication operator Hispasat.

Residents of Magaña (Soria) will now be able to enjoy free satellite Internet service at 30 Mbps in their homes and businesses thanks to this contest, aimed at small municipalities and singular population entities which lack connectivity.

Social network users and those who visited the Conéctate project website were able to choose from three finalists in casting their vote for the winning town.

Madrid, 29 May 2017.- The municipality of Magaña in the province of Soria has won the #enREDatupueblo contest held by Hispasat last March for Spanish municipalities or singular population entities (ESP) with fewer than 800 inhabitants located in remote and sparsely populated areas in Spain where there is low quality Internet access or no Internet access at all. Magaña was very active in their search for support and received 1,835 votes, compared to the 861 which went to Valle de Manzanedo and the 829 which went to Aracena.

For one year Magaña will receive free satellite Internet access at 30 Mbps for its residents, homes and businesses, in addition to the installation and servicing of the network.

Social network users and those who visited the Conéctate project website at www.hispasatconectate.es voted for the winning town among the three finalists.

Carlos Espinós, CEO of HISPASAT, stated: "We would like to congratulate Magaña’s mayor, Fernando Marín, and all of its residents for the hard work and dedication they put in to win this contest and connect for the very first time to the network of networks through a quality connection. In spite of Magaña’s small size, its residents were able to mobilise and increase their votes twentyfold. It brings us great joy to be able to connect them to the digital world and we hope that satellite connectivity allows them to grow, develop and become part of the Information Society."

Magaña is a very small municipality with only 79 inhabitants located in the Tierras Altas region, in the northeastern part of the province of Soria. Mayor Fernando Marín, on behalf of the residents of the town, expressed his excitement, stating: "We are very happy to have made our dream come true. It was the dream of all residents of this town, who will finally see an improvement in our communications that will positively impact our businesses. With this new service we are hopeful that our self-employed residents will see an increase in their work, that our health system will be strengthened, that our cattle farms will be improved... an endless amount of opportunities that we want our young people to take advantage of to help our town grow”.

The mayor has thanked Hispasat and all of the people who have provided their support in helping Magaña win this prize.I would especially express my gratitude to the El Hueco centre of entrepreneurship and the Soria Forestry Association for their collaboration. Both organizations understood the potential of rural development through this initiative and helped us promote our candidature”, the mayor concluded.

The town council of Magaña entered the contest with a creative video in which they explained the improvements satellite connectivity would bring to different aspects of the town in the future if they won. See "Un año después en Magaña" (“One year later in Magaña”) at: http://hispasatconectate.es/maganaparticipacionenredatupueblo/

A total of twenty-five towns from all over Spain entered the contest, of which only 14 met all of the requirements established by the organisation: Almonaster La Real (Huelva), Aracena (Huelva), Boadella i Les Escaules (Girona), Fasnia (Santa Cruz de Tenerife), La Herguijuela (Ávila), Linares de Mora (Teruel), Magaña (Soria), Oliete (Teruel), Orea (Guadalajara), Rivilla de Barajas (Ávila), Uclés (Cuenca), Valle de Manzanedo (Burgos), Vilapoupre (Lugo) and Yernes y Tameza (Asturias). Once the deadline for presenting the projects had passed, a selection committee chose three finalists (Aracena-Huelva, Magaña-Soria and Valle de Manzanedo-Burgos) which were announced on 17 May to coincide with Internet Day. From that date until 27 May, social network users and those who visited the Conéctate project website were able to vote for the winning town.

This contest aims to show how satellites can be the solution to the lack of connectivity in remote or sparsely populated regions, a problem that is quickly solved through satellite technology, which is now available in the same quality and price as that of terrestrial networks. As such, satellites are an ideal alternative to bring broadband connectivity to areas where other technologies do not reach.

The dates for the installation of the antennas and the activation of broadband service in the winning town will soon be announced.

For further information on the contest and the winning entry, please visit the website: www.hispasatconectate.es.

Conéctate Project

With the aim of helping bridge the digital divide and meet the objectives set forth by the European Digital Agency, HISPASAT has launched Conéctate, a digital inclusion project intended to improve the quality of life and the economic and social development of remote or sparsely populated areas in Spain that do not have access to broadband Internet or have very poor quality access.

Thus, it is essential to inform residents of the possibilities that satellites offer as a technology to universally access quality broadband connection, with the aim of preventing the risk of digital exclusion for those who are affected.

Knowing that satellites, due to their universal coverage and high capacity, can provide solutions and equal opportunities to 100% of the population, HISPASAT maintains its firm commitment, in the present and in the future, to opening doors to access the information society for all citizens through this project.

For more information, please visit the website: www.hispasatconectate.es

About HISPASAT

HISPASAT is comprised of companies that have a presence in Spain as well as in Latin America, where its Brazilian affiliate HISPAMAR is based. HISPASAT is a world leader in the distribution and broadcasting of Spanish and Portuguese content, and its satellite fleet is used by important direct-to-home television (DTH) and high-definition television (HDTV) digital platforms. HISPASAT also provides satellite broadband services and other added value solutions to governments, corporations and telecommunication operators in America, Europe and North Africa. HISPASAT is one of the world's largest companies in its sector in terms of revenue, and the main communications bridge between Europe and the Americas.

Download press release