Aotec, which has submitted its position to the central government in writing, advocates for the participation of telecommunications SMEs in the development of 5G networks in rural Spain. “Its expansion must be open to everyone's participation to better guarantee territorial universality. Connectivity is the foundation of digitalization, and territories without it will be digitally impoverished,” asserts the organization's president, Antonio García Vidal.
 
In his opinion, “it is essential that rural areas have a connection that makes them competitive with urban areas.” He points out that the fight against the rural digital divide is fundamental to the government's 5G strategy. Therefore, he emphasized that SMEs can play a decisive role in its expansion, “just as they have with fiber optics,” given that these companies focus on territories that are not of strategic or commercial interest to large corporations.
 
Vidal points out that “we cannot afford the delays that have occurred with 4G, because there are still rural areas riddled with fiber optic cables where efficient mobile coverage is lacking.” Without 5G, “we will have lost all the progress made with fiber optics. The incipient migration from cities to rural areas will cease.” Therefore, Aotec believes that incentives should focus on rural areas.
 
Courses of action: transfer, low frequency and neutral operator
The association has proposed several courses of action: on the one hand, considering the possibility of urging large operators to partially transfer 5G spectrum in municipalities with lower population density.
Furthermore, there are plans to reclaim low-frequency spectrum (3.5 GHz) in these same areas, currently held by mobile operators and lying unused, to auction it off so that others can create local or private multi-operator networks to develop the future Industry 4.0. This is already being done in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Finally, enabling the figure of a neutral operator is being considered as another possibility.
 
5G Incentives
Regarding incentives, Vidal argued that “the aid planned for 5G should allow for the participation of all players in the telecom sector. The more players involved, the greater the profitability will be for the country as a whole.”.
 
Furthermore, the association proposes that, in addition to traditional direct aid to operators carrying out the deployment, part of the budget be dedicated to supporting public-private partnership projects, in which territorial entities that want to co-invest in the development of these network infrastructures participate.
 
Furthermore, Aotec advocates for decentralized management of some funds by regional and local authorities, who are best positioned to understand the real needs of their areas, to ensure greater efficiency. “The autonomous communities must play a significant role in this new generation of mobility.”.
 
Neutral operator or own spectrum
Aotec explains that it is working on the figure of the neutral operator, which would be one that, without its own frequencies, would create a multi-operator 5G network infrastructure within a municipality, and which operators with spectrum would have the obligation to use.
 
Aotec also proposes, as another avenue for participation, that low-frequency spectrum, currently underutilized in rural areas, be released, or that the operator be required to partially cede the spectrum in the upcoming planned tenders.
 
Both issues could be considered within the requirements of the 700 MHz spectrum auction scheduled for the second half of 2021. In this regard, the association believes that the auction “should not be merely for revenue generation” since that would slow down the pace of implementation of the new technology.
 
Along with territorial cohesion and greater promotion of competition, the entity argues ecological, aesthetic and economic reasons, given that, in many municipalities, a single infrastructure would be created instead of as many as there are operators with spectrum, something that has happened with 4G and its predecessors.