This news was posted by iametza interactive and was made possible by the Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 license.

What is Sakananet? Why did you believe?

IKER: The project is part of the Sakana Strategic Plan, an initiative for the reactivation of the region and its socio-economic development. One of the needs seen in the Plan was to extend the fiber to the whole of the Sakana. It should be borne in mind that, at that time, there were no fibers in many localities, not even in the main ones, such as in Etxarri. This need was put on the table and after several attempts, this time we managed to serve the peoples who did not have fibre.

In some places there were shortcomings, particularly in small towns, and local citizens and businesses have been served. In some larger villages, despite fiber, there were neighborhoods and industrial centers that didn't have the Internet. It is a project that goes step by step and phase by phase, and in the first we have managed to ensure that from Irurtzun to Etxarri Aranatz, at least in all villages, we have coverage under decent conditions.

Sakananet is a pooled telecommunications network. What does this mean?

IKER: Pooling means that they are infrastructures formed, driven and governed by different actors. The Sakananet project has 3 main legs. On the one hand, there are the local agents: the development agency and the local municipalities. On the other hand, the Foundation Guifi.net offers the project technical and other capabilities. And thirdly, there is the participation of the citizens: supporting this infrastructure, economic support… Given that there have been several interventions to implement the project, its monitoring and development is built on these feet, as well as governance and all future development.

Another way to explain what is a communal network, closely linked to the reality of Sakana, is that of communal or communal lands. In other places they are seen as public land, but in the Sakana they are lands of citizenship. Municipalities and citizens are involved in the use, governance, improvement and conservation of this public-community heritage. I think it's a very good figure to imagine what Sakanet is. Sakanet is our digital community. It is a public and community infrastructure, in which municipalities, citizens, the Foundation participates Guifi.net and is open to other actors.

Will Maialen, for those who do not know, tell us what the Foundation is Guifi.net and what its objectives are?

Maialen: Guifi.net The Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Catalonia. In recent years it has also opened a delegation in Navarra, in the capital of Navarra, Pamplona/Iruña. The Foundation was set up more than 10 years ago with the aim of opening up a joint, open, free and neutral telecommunications network that allows large operators to reach areas that they do not want to reach. This common telecommunications network, both by radio link and by optical fiber, articulates and coordinates different projects with the aim of eliminating the digital gap between rural and urban areas, offering services to local operators.

And how have you funded the Sakanet network? How do contributions work?

SELVA: In line with what Iker has explained, in the financing of this project, which has emerged from the cooperation of many actors, we also use the Community model. On the one hand, citizenship funds, the Foundation Guifi.net plays its part, we also participate the Sakana Commonwealth and the local municipalities, as well as the Sakana Development Agency, the operators and, finally, the Government of Navarra has put a part in carrying out the project.

Contributions are a form of citizen participation in the financing of this project. An initial contribution of EUR 1,200 can be made. This contribution has tax benefits, 25% of the contribution is recovered when making the income statement. In addition, contributors are removed from the “online fee” forever, so a discount of EUR 17 on the monthly invoice is applied to them. This means an annual saving of EUR 204. In this way, the contribution made is amortised over four years. On the other hand, the usual operators charge you the investment they have made for the implementation of the infrastructure over a lifetime. That doesn't make sense. In the event that the contract is concluded with the Foundation, it is understood that once this infrastructure is paid there should no longer be paid for it.

In the Sakana there are many small towns and villages. What possibilities does Sakanet offer from the point of view of citizenship and municipal policies?

SELVA: I would say that Sakanet has opened up an opportunity that we did not have until now. We have always complained that a city policy is being pursued and that rural areas are a little abandoned. Pamplona is 20 minutes from Sakana, but there is a world, on many issues, with regard to Pamplona. Sakanet puts the same options on the table. So far, let's say in an Arakil, we couldn't work from home, we couldn't study from home, and the pandemic has revealed that digital divide. From Sakanet we believe that we have taken a great step towards equality on the part of the services.

Major operators have entered the Sakana region, but they have entered the larger towns, and in those large towns they have not placed fibre in the areas where the difficulties were greatest. We have left some municipalities like Arakil, Ergoiena, Irañeta... This was clearly due to the lack of economic interest on the part of the major operators. We are very few inhabitants in every village and they leave us always relegated to certain things. When we went to the Government of Navarra, asking why Telefónica did not have to come to Arakil, Arruazu or Irañeta, we were told that it was a matter of patience. Until now, the major operators have operated through a subsidy that said that the year in which the subsidy was to be applied would come. We have taken a step forward. Patience is over. We believe that we must have the same rights, and through the Foundation and thanks to the cooperation of various municipalities we have made it possible for the small peoples to also have a connection.

The socio-economic development of the region has also been beneficial, right?

IKER: Yes, on the part of the Sakana Development Agency we value it very positively for two reasons. On the one hand, as Oihana has said, the scheme that has been followed so far has been to wait, to be patient in different situations. This also affected the municipalities, they framed us in this dynamic of the complaint. With this project we have seen that we can move from complaints to proposals and to the capacity and achievement of them. We have managed, and yet we have implemented, a project of this kind, with all its complexity. I believe that this has the value of putting our own work in value from the point of view of socio-economic development. And, above all, if we have been able to do so, also in other areas, why not? It's a collective empowerment, and for us it's very positive.

On the other hand, at the technological level and linked to the business world, we see the possibility of generating local knowledge. Above all, in collaboration with the Foundation Guifi.net, in view of the initiatives carried out elsewhere. We offer the possibility of creating specialised technology-related services to the extent that they are allowed to small suppliers. Then it has to be done. There must be many other conditions for such initiatives to emerge, but I believe that our commitment and our obligation was to provide those opportunities, that basis, that platform, that system… Give some support to anyone who wants to take it there. We are in the first phase. It is being set in motion, but I see possibilities for this, especially in the long term, as it is a long-term job, we will be working on the basis of our capacities and possibilities.

What is the current situation? Is the Sakananet service available?

SELVA: Yes, it's available. People are connected. As Iker said, we are in the first phase. There is something missing in some people, but we are on the move. At the moment, we've had 100 connections in 4 weeks, and the estimate is to have 250 connections before the summer. By summer we would start with the second phase. Connections Guifi.net to populations that already have fiber and areas of special difficulty will begin there.

Maialen: One of the goals of Guifi.net has always been to remove the digital divide between capitals and small towns, but it is important for us that all people access a quality Internet. It’s coming in the Sakana Guifi.net and will reach places where no one offered the service. In a second phase, as Oihana said, the fibre will reach the municipal headquarters of Irañeta, Arruazu, Uharte, Etxarri and Arbizu. We are also taking steps to reach families with economic problems and in vulnerable situations. Families in this situation will have the opportunity to access a quality Internet through social services.

For the future, what plans do you have? How do you picture the Barranca of the future?

IKER: For us, this project has shown how successful a way of working can be. The possibility of doing great things in small towns with few resources. In the last two years, within the Community, a journey is being made in the field of housing, it has also been done in the field of telecommunications, and as a result we have the Sakanet project. We are developing and strengthening a way of working. There are also other issues that can be dealt with along that path. We are in the process of updating the Sakana Strategic Plan, and there, on the part of the municipalities, it can be seen that their future can be taken up by them and that in some areas, in addition to those that have not yet come, the proposals are on the table. References have been created relating to different projects, one of them Sakanet, and I see enthusiasm, desire and strength to work for the future. From these forms of work, I imagine a way to respond to the needs of the citizens and of Sakana as a region.

SELVA: I agree with Iker. In the last 3 years I have seen that we have taken some very large steps at the level of Sakana, particularly in the way we work. We are working on working groups with different themes and you can see that working together the steps are bigger and stronger. I imagine the Sakana to be positive in many respects. Seen in telecommunications. How we were two years ago and how we are now. Connections are underway. It's to be happy. With housing, we're also doing a great job. One of the consequences of this work will be the modification of the Navarra Housing Law that has been carried out so far and which inserts this vision of our rural environment. It’s no small thing cosa.Yo I see a future with optimism.

Maialen: Guifi.net The intention from now on is to get to most municipalities that we can have a high-quality Internet. As an example, we've done a project in Erro, we're now here, with Sakanet, and at the same time we're working with another project in Olza and Oion. Our aim is for the Internet to reach everyone where major operators do not want to enter. Municipalities wishing to have such a joint telecommunications network can contact us via email sakananet@guifi.net or telephone 623526529.