Chronic Signal Outages Hit Rural Communities
The mayor of Mieres, Núria Martínez, has publicly denounced recurring mobile network blackouts affecting the municipality in the Catalan comarca of La Garrotxa. According to Martínez, residents experience intermittent connectivity outages lasting several hours or up to a full day. These disruptions severely impact daily life in a region close to Girona, where geographical isolation is not a barrier. Despite this, major telecom operators have failed to provide definitive solutions or clear responses to repeated complaints from locals and municipal authorities. Martínez stated that telecom companies have not communicated any plans to resolve the persistent low coverage in Mieres and surrounding areas.
Fibre Optic Passes Village But Service Not Extended
A particular irony, as reported by local media, is that fibre optic infrastructure runs through Mieres and neighbouring Sant Miquel de Campmajor, yet stops short of connecting residents. The mayor of Sant Miquel, Oriol Serrà, described how the line "dies 20 metres from the town hall", leaving both municipalities without reliable service. Telecom providers have not assumed final deployment due to the dispersed population and high costs, even as European subsidies fail to reach isolated homes. Martínez highlighted a worsening situation: some households previously had copper-line landlines, but lost fixed connectivity after fibre rollouts failed to deliver full service. Many now rely on unstable 4G routers or satellite options like Starlink, which do not guarantee consistent access.
The rural world is not a priority. It's hard to reach any agreement when decisions are made from a metropolitan mindset.
Impact on Emergency Response and Local Economy
The lack of reliable connectivity has real-world consequences. Farmers and livestock workers face delays in receiving feed or transport, unable to coordinate during outages. One resident approached the town hall urgently needing to arrange cow collection but had no working phone. Martínez admitted she cannot activate municipal emergency plans during outages, despite being legally responsible for doing so. During storms, technical faults or cable theft, residents are left unable to make calls or send messages. They must travel to other locations to find working landlines, putting emergency response at risk. Local businesses also suffer. Restaurants cannot always accept card payments, forcing customers to travel to nearby towns like Banyoles to withdraw cash.
Generalitat Steps In After Media Spotlight
Following media coverage, the Catalan government has initiated action. The Generalitat de Catalunya contacted Mieres Town Council to launch technical coverage studies. The primary goal is to identify signal dead zones and design targeted interventions to address digital deprivation. Martínez stressed that residents in small towns pay the same taxes and service fees as city dwellers and deserve equal connectivity. She called for fair access to prevent rural areas from being left behind. Residents affected by poor mobile coverage in Mieres and Sant Miquel de Campmajor can report incidents via the COPE Catalunya report portal for further documentation by the council.
Reported by cope.es, Redacción COPE Barcelona, apdnoticies.com, larazon.es.
