A cow pulls the cable and the future of a Biscay region is wobble | Spain

The inhabitants of the Biscay municipalities of Karrantza (2,700 inhabitants) and lanestosa (250 inhabitants) can already send emails and make calls from the landline. The fiber optic operator that serves the area has already restored the connection after a week of blackout. « The only way to make efforts or communicate during the breakdown has been through the mobile, something that not all of the neighborhood has, » laments the mayor of the first town, Raúl Palacio (independent formation), in reference to the oldest population, with less technological skills.

It all started when a cow that grass quietly in a campaign was entangled with the cables that crossed over the meadow. When trying to free himself, he broke the fiber optic laying, leaving hundreds of people without service. Until the company did not pay the expenses of the veterinarian, the owner of the farm did not let the repair technicians enter. The video of the animal standing and waiting for someone to free him from that copper tangle has gone viral and has put on the table one of the main problems suffered by the area: The lack of investment in infrastructure.

« This is usual here, » acknowledges Palacio. Only in the last year and a half, ensures that they have suffered at least seven similar cuts. « The cows are not always protagonists, we have also had problems with a mare or a tractor. » The problem is that these laid passes to a relatively accessible height for an animal or for a human.

« As they do not have a maintenance, these posts yield with the weight of the ancient copper cables (already in disuse) and with the inclement weather, » explains the first mayor of this place where the southwest wind blows with desire: « When a post falls, the cable is not cut, but it comes practically at the ground, which generates accidents like that of the cow, or directly prevents the cattle from being the farm. »

The problem extends throughout the municipality, also in its population nuclei: “From the same town hall, in the center of the town, we see a pole fallen for two and a half years, in a regato next to a block of floors. At 50 meters there is another post fastened with a rope, touching the tiles of a hamlet,” describes a palace from his office in the municipal offices.

The responsibility for maintenance falls on Telefónica, the only operator that arrives at the scene. “It is very difficult to find someone to give solutions or have decision capacity. They always tell us that they will notify the person in charge. I have been in office for twelve years and I have not yet managed to put an end to this situation. And The more time passes, worsebecause posts continue to fall that nobody fixes, ”he denounces. Sources from this company argue to El País that“ they have been working to update these facilities ”.

The less dense area of ​​Bizkaia

Karrantza, in addition to being known for The Cuevas de Pozalaguais the largest municipality in Bizkaia, with 137 square kilometers. It is nestled in Enkarterri, the largest region in Bizkaia – it involves 20% of the historical territory – and one of the most rural Euskadi. On the other hand, the population density is scarce, with just 70 inhabitants per square kilometer, compared to 2,300 of the Metropolitan Zone of Bilbao. In fact, for each inhabitant in this municipality there are four cows: in total, about 12,000 heads of cattle.

Lanestosa, bordering municipality and dependent on the same telecommunications network, suffers a similar situation. The mayor and the deputy mayor of this town, Belén Fernández and Nagore Barreras (PNV), summarize it clearly: « This is an obvious lack of maintenance. We do not believe that in other villages it will happen as here. » In addition, they alert the consequences for the most vulnerable population: « Throughout the week, telecare services for older people have not worked. It is a very serious fact in terms of security. »

The blackouts in the fiber connection are aggravated when they coincide with cuts in the electricity supply. « During the storms, light also leaves. And that, in addition to the impact it has on homes and businesses, leaves us without mobile coverage, » explains Fernández. In this case, the mayors of the two municipalities recognize that Iberdrola are trying to solve them with an investment in the infrastructure of the area.

The gas supply has never been a problem in the area; Yes of water. Neither of these two villages is consortered in the public entity that supplies drinking water in Bizkaia. As well as in Lanestosa « with the two treatment plants we have is enough, » says its mayor; Karrantza has had to stock up on tank trucks from Cantabria at the time of drought, the last, in the summer of 2022.

Having basic quality services is essential to guarantee the present and future of the rural environment. « If a series of minimum services are not guaranteed, it is impossible to keep the existing population or attract new neighbors, » says Barreras. Lanestosa has made “a very large effort” in the last eight years to carry out a collaborative housing project and Coworking with the aim of attracting people interested in teleworking from the town. « But how are we going to get it forward with these shortcomings? » He asks.

« We want to claim that we are citizens like any other. We pay taxes, we pay our quotas, and the only thing we ask is a quality service. We ask only what already exists in other municipalities: that there are no constant cuts of light and that the Internet works correctly. It is a basic and fair claim, » the two lanestosarras conclude.