Vodafone to invest €243 million in Andalucía

THE region of Andalucía is to benefit from a huge technological boost thanks to an investment by telecommunications giant Vodafone. A total of €243 million is to be invested by Vodafone Spain over the next two years in a series of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) initiatives in Andalucía.

The deal between Vodafone and the Junta de Andalucía (regional government) means that Vodafone’s 4G network will be expanded to all towns in the region with a population of over 10,000 by the end of next year, meaning that over 73 per cent of the total Andalucian population will have access to 4G coverage.

The company also plans to invest €4.5 million in the creation of a Big Data R&D centre with the aim of improving productivity and business efficiency. President of the Junta de Andalucía, Susana Díaz, welcomed the initiative by saying that Andalucía is “a land in which you can trust and deserves to be given opportunities.” She noted that the agreement is intended to “advance the investments needed to accelerate the deployment of the 4G telecommunications network.”

“Every euro invested in the ICT sector has a positive impact on GDP and in other sectors such as employment and helps us open up new career opportunities for our youth, for the business sector, for undertaking initiatives and for projects that create more jobs,” she said.