In this day and age many claim they would not be able to live without their mobile telephone, but residents in some rural areas have no choice; the mobile signal has yet to reach their villages.
The Ministry of Industry has undertaken to solve this problem and to take mobile coverage to 98 per cent of inhabited areas in the province of Malaga by the end of this year. This involves 53 projects in around 30 municipalities to be carried out by the operators Telefónica Móviles and Orange.
In fact 24 projects have already been completed in the province, while another 18 are under development and two are at the survey stage. However nine of the original projects have proved to be unfeasible, say sources from the Ministry of Industry, as the geography of the area makes mobile telephone coverage impossible, even with the new aerials being installed. This means that the following areas remain without a signal: Las Rozas (Cútar), Jimera de Líbar, part of Olías, La Atalaya (Villanueva de Algaidas), Sabinal (álora), El Chorro (álora), Yeseras (Cártama), El Colmenar (Cortés de la Frontera) and El Borge.
On a national level the ministry has a budget of 531.8 million euros for its Mobile Telephone Extension Plan which includes these projects in the province of Malaga. The scheme concentrates on villages with fewer than a thousand inhabitants which have been ignored by the private operators. In some cases the work involves improving a poor signal and in others, taking mobile technology to places that didn’t have it at all before. This is benefitting areas of the Axarquía, such as Sedella, Cútar, Macharaviaya or Sayalonga.
As well as rural villages the scheme also aims to ensure that mobile telephones can be used along the entire length of the most important communication routes, including main roads, motorways and the AVE high speed railway line. Places of strategic interest are also included such as areas surrounding reservoirs or power stations.
Projects in Malaga
The ministry plans to take the mobile telephone signal to two areas of strategic interest, 62 points on roads and railways and 53 rural areas which include the following:
Alcaucín: In Alcaucín, Los Cortijillos, Espino, Fuente de Salia and
Venta Baja.
Almogía: In Arroyo de Coche.
álora: In Las Lomas.
Alpandeire: In Alpandeire.
árchez: Coverage for all of árchez.
Benarrabá: In Benarrabá.
Canillas de Albaida: Signal for the village.
Carratraca: In Carratraca.
Cártama: Gibrangaila and Doñana.
Casabermeja: In Moheda-Portales.
Colmenar: In Caravaca, Gonzalo and Solano.
Cortés de la Frontera: El Colmenar.
Cútar: In Cútar and Salto del Negro.
Iznate: In Iznate pueblo.
Macharaviaya: In Macharaviaya and Benaque.
Malaga: In Olías.
Mijas: In Entrerríos.
Moclinejo: In Moclinejo and Valdes.
Pizarra: In Los Lagares and Zalea.
Ronda: In Serrato.
Salares: In Salares.
Sayalonga: In Sayalonga and Corumbela.
Sedella: In Sedella pueblo.
Vélez-Málaga: In Cájiz, Trapiche and Triana.
Villanueva de Algaidas: In El Albaizín and La Parrilla.
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