The Diputació de Lleida, the province-level council, announced on 15 October a €1.6 million project to lay about 14.6km of fibre-optic cable in Urgell, Noguera and Segarra. The scheme will expand the public telecommunications network and is intended to improve digital connections for municipalities and smaller settlements.

For rural residents and businesses in the three counties, the project is intended to strengthen links between municipalities and make future network connections easier. The announcement does not identify the individual towns or the timetable for the works.

Fibre works will also include road upgrades

The project will use existing and planned infrastructure, while new ducts will be built to extend the network. It is supported by the European Union through Catalonia's 2021–2027 ERDF programme, the European Regional Development Fund.

  • Investment: approximately €1.6 million.
  • Planned fibre network: about 14.6km.
  • Areas covered: Urgell, Noguera and Segarra.
  • Additional works: resurfacing on several road sections and new traffic-counting stations.
“Ensuring fibre-optic coverage across the whole Lleida, Pirineu and Aran area is essential to guarantee equal opportunities and territorial balance, especially in rural municipalities,” said Agustí Jiménez, vice-president of the Diputació de Lleida and councillor responsible for new technologies.

Cristina Morón, the council member responsible for technical services, said combining telecommunications works with road maintenance would improve public infrastructure from “an integrated perspective”.

The road element will include renewing road surfaces on several stretches in the Diputació de Lleida network and installing new stations that measure traffic volumes. Residents and businesses seeking information on whether their municipality will be included will need to follow updates from their local Ajuntament, the municipal council, and the Diputació de Lleida.

Primary sources: cido.diba.cat. Reported by novatarrega.cat, radiobalaguer.cat, Blaupixel.com, diputaciolleida.cat, Nova Tàrrega.