July 24, 2018
• Magaña has now enjoyed one year of free digital connection, the prize the town won in the #enREDatupueblo contest held by the Spanish satellite operator to provide connectivity to an unconnected town.
• The inhabitants of the village will enjoy satellite internet connection at 30 Mbps for one more month so that all residents can continue to enjoy the service during the vacations in August.
• The residents can keep the service if they want to thanks to the offer provided by Eurona
Madrid, 24 July 2018.- Magaña will enjoy an additional month of internet connection in their homes, services and businesses, until the end of the August. The town in the province of Soria, located in a digitally isolated area, was proclaimed the winner of the #enREDatupueblo contest, held by HISPASAT. Thanks to the contest, the town's residents have enjoyed a year of satellite internet connection at 30 Mbps completely free of charge, starting from last July. The prize period was originally set to end at the end of this month, but both the operator as well as Eurona, the internet service provider, have decided to extend access to the month of August, which is the busiest month of year due to many people returning to the town during the vacation period and the increase of visitors for the festival of the patron saint of Our Lady of Barruso.
The town in Soria was proclaimed the winner in the #enREDatupueblo contest thanks to the votes cast by users on social networks and the visitors to the Conéctate project website https://conectateporsatelite.es/. The town government presented its candidacy to the contest with a creative video where the residents explained the improvements that satellite connectivity could provide in different aspects of their lives and the town's activities in the future, if they were to win the prize. See "One year later in Magaña" on:
http://hispasatconectate.es/maganaparticipacionenredatupueblo/
Fernando Marín, the town's mayor, has expressed how important the year of internet connection has been to the town in Soria: "For the first time, thanks to the prize we earned through Hispasat, the residents and visitors to Magaña, Pobar and Villarraso have been able to connect to the outside world. We've been able to do what is considered normal in cities: browse the internet, shop online, read newspapers, be in contact with friends and family, etc."
Carlos Espinós, the CEO of HISPASAT, has stated that “for Hispasat it's been satisfying to be able to contribute to making Magaña a connected town with this contest. This experience has shown that satellites are the ideal technology to provide internet access service in rural, remote and sparsely populated areas where there are no connectivity alternatives with sufficient quality. All that's necessary is to install an antenna to have an immediate broadband high-capacity connection which allows for speeds of up to 30 Mbps in similar conditions and prices to the services offered by other networks".
The capacity usage during the year of free connectively has been relatively low during most of the months, due to the fact that few residents live there year round; but it exceeded 300 GB in August and December 2017, coinciding with the summer vacations, the long weekend in December and the Christmas festivities. The most commonly used websites and applications in these months have been YouTube, browser pages, email, Google Services, Instagram and the online game platform Steam, in addition to instant messaging services such as WhatsApp.
Magaña is small town of 79 residents, located in the county of Tierras Altas, in the northeast of the province of Soria; one of the many towns in Spain that are still digitally disconnected without the possibility to access internet through terrestrial means. To provide the town with connectivity 4 open Wi-Fi areas and more than 40 antennas were installed in the houses that requested it, which will be placed in the homes of the residents that want to hire the service. In the cases where this isn't applicable, the equipment will be removed without any costs for users.
The test performed in Magaña has opened the path to the development of rural connectivity via satellite. The agreement reached between Hispasat and Eurona in March of this year to market the Ka band from two new satellites, the Hispasat 36W-1 and the Hispasat 30W-6, allows a technology similar in quality and price to terrestrial networks to be offered, with broadband services at 30 Mbps for all citizens in Spain, wherever they are and wherever they live. Additionally, anyone who requests and lacks alternatives to internet access at more than 10 Mbps can enjoy a €400 state grant for the registration and installation of the equipment costs, which Eurona directly manages without any additional hassle for users. https://conectateporsatelite.es/
Conéctate Project
With the aim of reducing the digital divide and complying with the objectives established by the European Digital Agenda, HISPASAT launched Conéctate, a digital inclusion project aimed at improving the quality of life and economic and social development of remote or sparsely populated areas in Spain which do not have broadband internet access or have very low quality access.
For this purposes, it's essential to inform the citizens about the possibility that satellites offer as a universal, high-quality broadband access technology, with the goal of avoiding the risk of digital exclusion for the affected groups.
Aware that satellites, thanks to the universal, high-capacity coverage, can provide solutions and provide the equality of digital opportunities to 100% of the population, HISPASAT has kept its firm, present and future, commitment to open doors to access the Information Society for all citizens through this project.
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 audiovisual 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 and connectivity services which include Internet access, mobility and the extension of mobile networks, in addition to 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.
For more information/photos/interviews: Xiana Santos: 91 343 12 86 - 628 813 281
