Over the past year, many people have considered starting a new life away from the city, looking for a better lifestyle with more spacious homes, less noise, fresh air and surrounded by nature. The pandemic has shown that telecommuting is possible and that this new model can bring multiple benefits to both businesses and employees.
The bad news is that currently a significant part of rural Spain does not even have access to a 4G network.
The necessary infrastructure for the installation and maintenance of fibre-optics is not in place, due to the simple reason that they are not profitable. Without good connectivity, teleworking is not possible and the less populated areas in Spain will remain like that. Fortunately, the arrival of 5G may turn this situation around.
This technology is creating a lot of expectations. We are told that with 5G we will be able to have a hundred times more connected devices, that its speed will be around 10 gigabits per second and that its latency will be between 1 and 4 milliseconds. All that is very good, but the important thing is that 5G offers an answer to people who want to be able to live and work seamlessly from anywhere. And all the indications point to fixed wireless access (FWA) networks being the answer.
The 5G FWA networks reduce the costs associated with the connectivity service, since the required physical infrastructure is limited to an antenna located in the house and connected by cable to a home router. With this simple installation, the speed and reliability of the connection are guaranteed. In addition, the energy expenditure is lower than other current options. During this year it has been well remarked how telecommunications service providers have increased their offerings of fixed wireless access. So, everything points to the fact that we are facing an emerging FWA market with a forecast of growth that could triple by 2026.
The Auction Of 5G Frequencies Expected To Be The Fastest In History
To the above we must add other advantages of 5G that also enable remote work, such as the ability to separate a physical network into different virtual networks. This will make it possible to own different network segments adapted to the needs of each organisation, so that all workers can have access to the resources they need according to their tasks at any given time, and independently of their location.
Technology is providing solutions to people’s new needs. But in this paradigm shift, public administrations and companies also have great responsibility. Firstly, streamlining the legal processes so that the adoption and commercialisation of these technologies can be carried out in a fast, simple, and economic way. Secondly, incorporating policies aimed at ensuring that employees have the right connectivity and the necessary tools to carry out their activity from the place of their choice. Perhaps this type of support is now valued higher than subsidised lunches, to give an example.
“Technology is providing solutions to people’s new needs. But in this paradigm shift, public administrations and companies also have great responsibility.”
Of course, cities are not going to disappear and not everyone can entertain the idea of making a radical change to their way of life, but the truth is that technology is no longer a barrier when it comes to new opportunities for the less populated areas of Spain. If there is a real interest in revitalising these areas, now is the time to prove it and make it a reality.
María García Villamor is HR Manager at Blue Telecom Consulting – BlueTC®
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