The Castilla y Leon municipality of Magaña launches its Internet connection after winning the HISPASAT contest

October 27, 2017

The official launch was led by the minister of Development and Environment of the Council of Castilla y León, Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones.

The town’s residents will be able to enjoy free satellite connection at 30 Mbps for one year thanks to the #enREDatupueblo contest, which was organised by the Spanish telecommunications operator.

More than 40 antennas and 4 open Wi-Fi areas have been installed in the three towns that form the municipality, Magaña, Pobar and Villarraso.

Madrid, 27 October 2017.- The municipality of Magaña in the province of Soria, has officially launched its Internet connection with an event that brought all the residents together. The event was led by Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones, the minister of Development and Environment of the Council of Castilla y León, and Fernando Marín, the mayor of Magaña, and Carlos Espinós, CEO of Hispasat, as well as representatives of other entities and associations of the province that work to socially and economically develop the region attended the event.

Magaña was announced as the winner of the HISPASAT #enREDatupueblo contest last May and, as a result, has started to enjoy completely free satellite Internet service at 30 Mbps for one year, as stated in the contest’s rules and regulations. To do this, more than 40 antennas have been installed in the homes that requested them, as well as 4 open Wi-Fi areas in the three towns that form the municipality, Magaña, Pobar and Villarraso. In this way, all the town’s residents have enjoyed Internet connection in their homes, services and businesses since last July.

In his speech, Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones highlighted “the importance today of having a quality Internet connection, regardless of the technology used, in order to provide public services and develop commercial initiatives”. He also stated that “the technologies applied to small municipalities not only improves the quality of life of their residents in many different ways, such as access to services, personal communication tools, social networks or the media, but it also promotes the values and resources of the territory, creating numerous opportunities through rural tourism; disseminates their culture, tradition and history through the Internet; improves agricultural and livestock management; and enables smart irrigation systems to be incorporated and sustainable waste and public lighting management, thus converting the entire area into a true Smart Territory. That is to say, through initiatives such as this, the municipality’s residents will have access to the infinite possibilities offered by the Information Society.”

Meanwhile, Carlos Espinós, CEO of HISPASAT, stated that “it is not possible to live, work and grow today without being connected to the digital world”. Espinós, who expressed his pleasure at being able to contribute to Magaña becoming a connected community, explained that “satellites are ideal for providing Internet access services in rural, remote or sparsely populated areas where there is no other connectivity alternative of sufficient quality, since its coverage is universal, it reaches any point within its area and it does so with a connectivity solution of the same characteristics and quality; it is quick to deploy, only requiring an antenna to be installed in order to have immediate broadband connection; and it has high capacity, which enables speeds of up to 30 Mbps in similar conditions to those of other technologies”.

Magaña is a very small municipality with only 79 inhabitants located in the Tierras Altas region, in the north-eastern part of the province of Soria. Mayor Fernando Marín added that “for us, this connection launch is a very important milestone. Having Internet is a huge change in the lives of all of our town’s residents. Internet connection will be a turning point for many businesses and it will open up endless opportunities in order for more people to come here”.

Magaña was announced as the winner of the #enREDatupueblo contest as a result of votes from social network users and those who visited the Conéctate project website www.hispasatconectate.es, reaching a total of 1,835 votes against the other two finalists, Valle de Manzaneda (Burgos) and Aracena (Huelva).

The town council entered the contest with a creative video in which they explained the improvements satellite connectivity would bring to different aspects of their lives and the activities of the town in the future if they won. Watch “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 aimed 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.

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

Conéctate Project

With the aim of bridging the digital divide and meeting 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 for universal access to 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

Acerca de HISPASAT

El Grupo HISPASAT está constituido por empresas con presencia tanto en España como en Latinoamérica, donde se ubica su filial brasileña HISPAMAR. El Grupo es líder en la difusión y distribución de contenidos en español y portugués, incluida la transmisión de importantes plataformas digitales de Televisión Directa al Hogar (DTH) y Televisión de Alta Definición (TVAD). HISPASAT provee también servicios de banda ancha por satélite y otras soluciones de valor añadido a gobiernos, corporaciones y operadores de telecomunicaciones en América, Europa y el norte de África. HISPASAT es una de las principales compañías del mundo por ingresos en su sector y el principal puente de comunicaciones entre Europa y América.

For more information/photos/interviews:

91 343 12 86 - 628 813 281

Xiana Santos

prensa@hispasatconectate.es


Download press release