Spain Telefonica to complete copper switch off in 2024; confirms deactivation date of problematic San Sebastian/San Marcial switch
According to Spanish newspaper Ruetir, Telefonica has committed to completing the full migration from copper to fibre by 2024, bringing to a close a programme that began back in 2016. The telco has notified the National Commission for Markets and Competition (Comision Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia, CNMC) that, having accelerated the shutdown of copper exchanges in recent years, as it stands, 8,526 existing copper exchanges already have a closing date, and of these, 2,911 will have closed by the end of this year. Further, the company has published the shutdown date for the area that has proved the most problematic: San Sebastian/San Marcial on 29 May 2024.
Until now, the historic city of San Sebastian’s local ordinances have prevented the rollout of fibre to replace copper parts of the city. However, following talks with the San Sebastian City Council to find a solution to the problem, the two sides have agreed a plan in which the City Council will be responsible for the fibre ducting deployment, while the three operators which will later share the infrastructure will handle all the other components.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate Telefonica deactivated a total of 800 copper exchanges in 2022, up from 700 in 2021, taking the total number of exchanges shut down since 2015 to 2,200. At that date the telco said it aimed to switch off its copper network by April 2024.
From Allnetfiber, From commsupdate.