Year after year, we remain committed to reducing regional asymmetries and ensuring that all Portuguese people, from the coast to the interior, have the same opportunity to interact with the digital world, through the optical fiber network.

To understand the impact of our infrastructure, we have been traveling to the municipalities we serve and listening to feedback from the populations, through the voice of the person who represents them: the mayor.

This time, we were in Santa Marta de Penaguião, talking to Luís Renguengo Machado.

“Digitalization, through optical fiber, was an opportunity that we cannot, in fact, miss. It was with this aim that we accepted the challenge of 100% coverage of our municipality”, says the mayor.

When asked about the socioeconomic impact of infrastructure, he recalls that the Hotel and Restaurant Industry were, from the outset, the sectors that benefited most.

“There was great difficulty, especially with regard to reserve management”, he comments.

Today, with fully digitalized systems, these spaces are able to capture and receive a wider public, who travel to the Douro municipality not only for leisure, but also for business.

“Santa Marta de Penaguião took a step forward in terms of competitiveness and attractiveness. And, naturally, it became a focus of attraction for investors who now more easily invest in our territory”.

An example of this is the official zone, which continues to grow visibly. But, according to the mayor, optical fiber also created the possibility for Penaguienses and all digital nomads who want to settle in the municipality to work from home.

“We have a Western world that challenges us and becomes attractive to all Portuguese people and, naturally, to Penaguienses. And, in fact, with optical fiber, we have managed to ensure that they, from here, have the necessary conditions to do what they would do in another country in Europe, in the United States or in any other part of the world, with the same success and having the advantage of living in this magnificent region, which is the Douro”.

In addition to these added values, our digital highway created the possibility of access to online knowledge for all students and to assistance for the elderly community. Furthermore, the possibility of making video calls brought residents closer to family and friends who are abroad.

“Optical fiber proved to be a way to improve our standard of living and a sign of comfort for everyone who lives in the territory. This makes us proud, it makes us happy because, in fact, the people of Penagui feel safe, they feel close and perfectly integrated”, he concludes.

Watch the full testimony here.