“Our digital highway reaches around 19 thousand families from Basto”

The company responsible for optical fiber in Terras de Basto says it now reaches 63% of the population. In response to the questions that Ecos de Basto addressed to it, to understand the state in which this sub-region finds itself with regard to one of the fundamental technological supports for the daily lives of families and companies, dstelecom from Braga says that in the municipalities in question has the capacity to connect more than 10,090 families to its network.

Regarding coverage of the so-called white areas – where, given the population density, there is no economic rationale to cover without subsidy –, whose national tender is in preparation, the company adds that “it will do everything to ensure coverage very close to 100%” .

dstelecom is the company responsible for the “installation, management, operation and maintenance of high-speed electronic communications networks” in the four municipalities of Terras de Basto. Can you find out what the coverage rate is in each municipality?

dstelecom built and operates an ultra-modern fiber optic network in areas of the country where, until the arrival of our infrastructure, there were digital needs, including the four municipalities of Terras de Basto.

To date, we cover 61% of the territory of Celorico de Basto, with a total of more than 6,600 families, distributed across the towns of Arnóia, Basto (Santa Tecla), Basto (São Clemente), Borba de Montanha, Britelo, Caçarilhe, Canedo de Basto , Carvalho, Corgo, Fervença, Gagos, Gémeos, Infesta, Molars, Ourilhe, Rego, Ribas, Vale de Bouro and Veade.

In Cabeceiras de Basto, we reached 60% of the territory. There are more than 5,800 families, distributed across the towns of Alvite, Arco de Baúlhe, Basto, Cabeceiras de Basto, Faia, Outeiro, Painzela, Pedraça and Refojos de Basto.

In Mondim de Basto, we cover 72% of the territory, accounting for more than 3,200 families, distributed across the towns of Atei, Mondim de Basto, Paradança and Vilar de Ferreiros.

As for Ribeira de Pena, our fiber optic infrastructure reaches 65% of the territory, with a total of more than 3,200 families, distributed across the towns of Cerva, Ribeira de Pena (Salvador), Santa Marinha and Santo Aleixo de Além-Tâmega.

All in all, our digital highway reaches around 19,000 families in Terras de Basto (63%).

With our multi-operator fiber infrastructure, families and companies in these municipalities are now able to enjoy telecommunications services with more speed, greater bandwidth, better coverage and higher quality, through all retail operators operating in Portugal.

How many individuals from each of the four municipalities in question are already connected to your RNG?

In Celorico de Basto, we have more than 3,150 families connected to our network (a penetration rate of 48%), more than 2,960 in Cabeceiras de Basto (a penetration rate of 51%), more than 1,440 in Mondim de Basto (a penetration rate of 44%) and more than 1,160 (a penetration rate of 36%) in Ribeira de Pena. In total, more than 8,700 families are already taking advantage of our high-speed telecommunications services, through the operator that each of them chose.

Therefore, in the municipalities in question, there is capacity to connect more than 10,090 families to our network.

End consumers who are interested in subscribing to a fiber service can check the availability of coverage in their area on our website, at www.dstelecom.pt/cobertura, or by sending an email to euquerofibra@dstelecom.pt with your full address and, ideally, GPS coordinate.

When do you expect dstelecom to achieve, in each of the four municipalities, a minimum coverage of 50%, according to the competition program they won?

dstelecom's multi-operator fiber infrastructure in Terras do Basto covers more than 50% of families, since 2013. From then until today, dstelecom has been covering new areas and, as previously mentioned, today it guarantees average coverage in the order of 63% in Celorico de Basto, Cabeceiras de Basto, Mondim de Basto and Ribeira de Pena.

It should be noted that dstelecom is constantly reinforcing fiber capacity where, in the meantime, more families have appeared, and studying the possibility and rationality of coverage in new towns, these municipalities being no exception.

It should also be noted that the Government is in the final phase of preparing a new tender to cover the so-called white areas, where, given the population density, there is no economic rationale for covering without subsidy. Once again, the municipalities of Terras de Basto include eligible areas within the perimeter of this future competition. dstelecom will do everything to ensure coverage in these municipalities very close to 100%.

In Terras de Basto, what is the profile of your typical client? Private, business?

Just to put it into context, dstelecom is a wholesale telecommunications operator, responsible for building and managing a multi-operator fiber optic network. In other words, our infrastructure is available to all telecommunications operators and they are the ones who, through our network, provide the fiber service to the end customer.

To date, the operators using our network are MEO, NOS, NOWO, Vodafone, ONI and ARTelecom.

However, we can reveal that, in Terras de Basto, as is the case in other areas of the country, we have private and business customers connected to our network, through its operator, such as, for example, the Hotel Água Hotels Mondim de Just who recently gave us an interview about the advantages of optical fiber, which you can consult here. Our infrastructure also serves equipment that requires an internet connection, such as ATMs or Hotspots, for example.

How does dstelecom justify that, in streets recently served by your RNG – for example, in the center of the town of Cabeceiras de Basto (Rua Francisco Botelho, 363) – there are potential customers to whom you are unable to provide access to optical fiber? Are we looking at cost savings?

One of the challenges inherent in building a network of this nature in areas of low population density is the flow of people and businesses within the municipality itself. There are areas where we have fiber and there are no longer any families or businesses and there are other areas where new businesses, new equipment and/or new families appear to connect to the network. In the case mentioned, we realized that it is a building recently registered on our network and, therefore, capable of already being requested services from telecommunications operators.

As we mentioned previously, dstelecom has been reinforcing its network capacity (more fibers) in some locations and bringing fiber optic infrastructure to more towns. In Cabeceiras de Basto, in particular, we have already carried out several capacity reinforcements, the investment for which amounted to 400 thousand euros, and we covered 2,200 more families (+38%) than the houses initially covered by the RNGs competition.

In the group of 4 municipalities in Terras de Basto, since 2013, the date of completion of the RNGs, until today, we have already covered over 6,600 families and made capacity reinforcements, the total investment of which amounted to 2.5 million euros.

How long will your responsibility for installing and managing the network in this territory last?

The networks built by dstelecom, whether under the RNGs competition - where we cover more than 250,000 homes in the North and South of the country - or not - however, we cover a further 5,200 homes with our own capital - are the property of dstelecom and do not exist, therefore this, any date of cessation of this responsibility. [JPM].

Source: Ecos de Basto