No rural territory without Internet connection, the great challenge of digital inclusion

BY UE STUDIO

Updated Friday, October 15, 2021- 09:35

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The term

refers to the degree to which ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) contribute to equalize and promote participation in society at all levels, intensifying social relations, facilitating economic opportunities for work and initiatives. business, developing the cultural aspects of society and promoting citizen participation. In other words:

. And it is that teleworking, studying remotely, making the purchase online in the supermarket or doing a management through the website of our bank is not something that is available to everyone. Billions of people in the world continue without the universal human right to access the Internet.

This

is especially felt in

, which lack reliable and affordable Internet access.

Providing them with connectivity continues to be one of the great challenges of our days.

Breaking the digital divide is also necessary to develop environments that are currently at risk of depopulation.

Thanks to

we can turn that emptied Spain into an ideal place to telecommute, enjoying better living conditions.

Therefore, it is time to promote a

, that can guarantee that basic need for Internet access.

Accelerate deployment

The European Union and the Government itself, with the

approved by the Council of Ministers, are promoting measures to reduce the digital divide.

Thanks to

, Spain has the opportunity to

, both fixed with FTTH and mobile with 5G, in those rural areas where the profitability of these investments is more difficult.

The Orange network is the one that supports the most mobile users: it provides 4G coverage to 98% of the population and its fiber reaches 15,689,000 homes and businesses

This is also the commitment and objective of

: to extend its fiber and mobile phone networks to all possible homes. Currently,

: it provides 4G coverage to 98% of the population and its fiber reaches 15,689,000 homes and businesses. To end the digital divide in rural areas, it has been working since 2015 on

. It has been from 2018 and, above all, 2019 when their presence in them has increased.

Orange's 2020-2021 deployment plan proposes to bring its fiber to more than 300,000 homes spread over almost 400 towns with up to 25,000 inhabitants, with fewer than 5,000 more than 300 of them. From January 2020 to today, the company has installed more than 400,000 lines in 214 municipalities of these characteristics.

No less important is the coverage of your 4G and 5G mobile network.

This latest technology already reaches 626 towns in 38 provinces, which means 5G coverage close to 37% of the Spanish population.

After the auction of the 700 MHz band, which closed at the end of July, Orange has established itself as the

, since it has 2x10MHz in the 700MHz band and 110 MHz in the band 3.5 GHz. The new 700 MHz band of 5G, with greater penetration and capable of covering larger areas, represents

.

A rate tailored to each person

But expanding connectivity in the rural world is not the only objective of Orange, which also works so that more and more people can benefit from all the advantages that, both from a social and economic point of view, the digitization of today's society brings . And all this to continue supporting the inclusion of the most vulnerable and that digital becomes an opportunity for them and not just another barrier in their development. To achieve this, last year the operator became the

, adapted to the needs and economic capacity of households with fewer resources.

The

offers 500 Mbps symmetric fiber Internet access, both upstream and downstream, a landline with unlimited calls to national landlines, and a mobile line with unlimited calls to landlines and national mobiles, along with a bonus of 3GB of data to browse at maximum speed. All this without commitment of permanence. This rate is intended for families that meet the requirement of being beneficiaries of the Minimum Living Income (IMV) or the Minimum Insertion Income (RMI) promoted by the different Autonomous Communities. Thus, for 12 renewable months, they can have all the connectivity needs of their home. In addition, now the rate can be contracted at any time, without a time limit, like any other in the company's catalog.

No child penalized in their studies

As an additional lever for those families whose situation does not allow them to access a fee, Orange has created its

program

, which provides free 4G Internet connection for a year to families identified by different collaborating NGOs at risk of digital exclusion.

The objective is to prevent the digital divide suffered by the children of these families from increasing.

In addition, if they do not have a connection device, the operator offers them one on loan for a period of one year, open for an extension in case of need.

Clients who want to can collaborate in this program so that more vulnerable families receive connectivity thanks to their support.

Finally, Orange does not forget about education either, and that is why it has also launched the

.

It is an innovative online educational platform that offers a wide range of content that can help optimize the professional future of vulnerable people or social groups, improve their education and digital inclusion, promote innovation or support entrepreneurship.

There are already more than 10,000 people registered and the goal is to quintuple the number of beneficiaries before the end of 2021 or, what is the same, to reach a total of 50,000 people.

Made by UE Studio

This text has been developed by UE Studio, creative firm of branded content and content marketing of Unidad Editorial, for ORANGE

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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