• Asteo Red Neutra and Rede Aberta have evolved Rurix into a shared rural digital infrastructure
  • Pedro Abad appointed CEO, Pere Antentas appointed CTO and Ana Rial joining as CFO of Rurix
  • Combined footprint of more than 6,500 km of backbone infrastructure and approximately 800,000 rural premises served
  • Asteo and Rede will continue to operate under their existing brands, retaining their operations and commercial relationships

Asteo Red Neutra and Rede Aberta have evolved Rurix, originally established in 2024 as a commercial alliance for sharing neutral fiber-optic networks in rural areas, into a shared rural digital infrastructure designed to capture strategic and commercial synergies.

Backed by the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF), managed by Cube Infrastructure Managers (Cube IM), Asteo Red Neutra and Rede Aberta are wholesale telecommunications infrastructure operators focused on FTTH networks, connectivity services and digital infrastructure in rural and underserved areas of Spain. CEBF invested in Rede Aberta in 2020 and Asteo Red Neutra in 2021.

Asteo and Rede Aberta will continue to operate as active companies under their existing brands and will retain their current operations, contracts and market positioning.

For this new stage of Rurix as a common rural digital infrastructure, Pedro Abad has been appointed CEO and Pere Antentas as CTO. Both will continue to serve in their current roles as CEO of Asteo Red Neutra and CEO of Rede Aberta, respectively.

Ana Rial has been appointed CFO. With more than 30 years of experience in senior financial and leadership roles in the telecommunications sector, including Grupo Excom, Onivia and Vodafone, Ana Rial will support the company’s financial management, strategic development and investor relations.

Asteo and Rede bring together significant rural FTTH networks and deployment capabilities, together with high-capacity transport and long-haul connectivity for operators, datacenters and large technology customers. Together, the two companies operate more than 6,500 km of backbone infrastructure and serve approximately 800,000 rural premises across more than 2,300 municipalities and localities in Spain.

Looking ahead, Rurix will selectively assess collaboration and growth opportunities that are compatible with its strategy and subject to rigorous financial discipline, particularly where they support the consolidation of alternative networks and long-distance routes in rural areas and along key data corridors.

Pedro Abad, CEO of Rurix and CEO of Asteo Red Neutra, commented: “Through Rurix, we are consolidating the footprint of Asteo and Rede’s neutral digital infrastructure, building on the commercial work carried out over recent years and strengthening our reach from rural areas. We believe rural areas are not at the edge of the network, but rather structural nodes where data, digital services and new business models converge. Having started with FTTH deployments in low-density municipalities, we are evolving towards an alternative network prepared for the growth of data traffic, with long-distance routes that connect datacenters, hyperscalers and companies with significant transmission requirements, while contributing to the decentralization of connectivity”.

Pere Antentas, CTO of Rurix and CEO of Rede Aberta, added: “A higher integration will enable the two companies to leverage synergies, accelerate infrastructure development and strengthen their capacity for growth. We operate a high-performance neutral network, with FTTH deployments in rural areas that bring the latest technology to these municipalities. In addition, the network connects major data transport corridors and cloud ecosystems with the territorial reach of rural areas. We are transforming our experience in rural deployments into high-capacity solutions for telecommunications operators and major technology players”.

Ana Rial, CFO of Rurix, commented: “The structure provides a stronger framework to coordinate investment, optimize resources and support the sustainable development of both companies. By combining financial discipline with a long-term infrastructure strategy, we can strengthen our ability to invest in the network and respond to customers’ evolving needs”.

Natalia Sutugina, Managing Director at Cube IM, said: “This represents a natural next step in the evolution of our investment in Asteo Red Neutra and Rede Aberta. With this development, we are reinforcing a digital infrastructure with the capacity to generate synergies, accelerate growth and respond to growing demand for high-capacity connectivity across the Iberian Peninsula and Europe.”