Spain pushes digital transformation with telecom awards, chip investment and new coverage rules

The minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function attended the XLVI edition of the Telecom Engineering Excellence Awards in Madrid, where 13 projects were recognised in doctoral theses, master’s work and academic careers. The event highlighted young talent, innovation and the importance of women in engineering, with the minister emphasizing a human‑centred approach to technology.

At the opening day of the DigitalES Summit, Secretary of State for Telecommunications Antonio Hernando declared that Spain has achieved an "excellent balance" in its digitalisation, urging other countries to look to the Spanish model. He called for early STEM education, noting the need to prepare talent for megatrends such as under‑sea cables, low‑orbit satellites and cybersecurity challenges posed by AI and quantum computing.

The government also approved a €24.5 million public investment in Attypics Photonics, a Valencian firm developing advanced photonic integrated circuits under the PERTE Chip plan. The project is expected to create over 300 direct, highly‑skilled jobs and strengthen Spain's semiconductor sovereignty.

Finally, minister Óscar López announced a new digital‑rights decree that will require mobile operators to guarantee at least four hours of coverage for 75 % of the population during electricity outages, with a phased implementation reaching full coverage by the third year. Critical infrastructure will have longer guaranteed operation periods, up to 24 hours for national control centres.