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ARCHIVED - Valencia region has worst broadband coverage is Spain
Alicante and Valencia provinces have the lowest fibre roll-out.
Data published by Spain's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation this week shows that Alicante and Valencia provinces have the worst broadband coverage in the country.
The geographical ranking of connection in homes, businesses and offices is divided into two categories: white areas - those that do not have coverage of new generation "superfast" broadband networks or where there are no forecasts for fibre roll-out by an operator within the next three years; and grey areas - those that currently have standard coverage or installation plans within the next three years.
And according to the data, Alicante province has 17,974 white and grey areas, behind Valencia with 18,471. In comparison, Asturias has 15,251 while in Castellón, there are only 8,244 areas with no or poor connection.
Of the 258,146 white and grey zones detected by the Spanish government, the majority will apparently be eligible for a slice of €250 million Unico-Banda Ancha state aid - which in the Valencia region, means 181,908 households will be eligible to apply: 65,708 in Alicante province; 82,496 in Valencia; and 33,704 in Castellón.
According to telecommunications engineer, and professor at Valencia University, José Francisco Montserrat del Río, the reason the region - the fourth most populated in Spain - has the worst broadband coverage is most likely due to "underfunding".
"The Valencia region is a peculiar case," he says, adding: "The coastal areas, where the population is heavily concentrated, is mountainous but there are also large plains, and getting the fiber optic to these places is not economically viable".
The service is provided "through public financing", but the Valencia region is apparently "underfunded" and there has been no investment for five years.
"Improving mobility and connectivity for equity in access to public services" is one of the Valencian government's proposals to curb depopulation in 171 "at risk" municipalities, according to its Economic and Social Committee, which stresses the "need to be connected for economic and social development".
IMAGE: Archive