Sagunto council calls for better mobile coverage on Puerto's seafront
The full council unanimously agreed to ask phone operators to draw up an updated coverage map and urgently fix mobile signal gaps in the seafront neighbourhoods of Puerto de Sagunto.
At its ordinary August session, Sagunto's full council (Pleno) unanimously approved a motion addressed to the operators serving the municipality: to help draw up an updated map of mobile phone coverage. Council groups also backed a call for urgent action wherever coverage is still falling short, specifically in the seafront neighbourhoods of Puerto de Sagunto (Sagunto's coastal district).
Behind the motion is Compromís per Sagunt, whose spokesperson, Maria Josep Picó, presented the text to the rest of the council, which backed it unanimously. Its starting point is simple: mobile connectivity is no longer a luxury but a service as essential as running water, street lighting or public transport, one that shapes residents' quality of life, the municipality's social cohesion and its own economic development.
Hundreds of families live along the Port's coastal strip, where a growing number of people also work, with activity spiking during the summer season. There, according to the proposal, poor coverage and weak data signal make everyday tasks harder -working remotely, paying by phone, or handling digital paperwork- and in some cases could even get in the way of an emergency call.
The text adds that without solid coverage, it is also impossible to fully roll out so-called smart-city tools: real-time information for residents, connected mobility, energy savings through sensors, or digital management of municipal and emergency services all rely on a dependable mobile network. That is why the council decided to fold a connectivity improvement plan into the municipality's digital transformation and sustainability strategy.
The next step involves seeking support beyond the council itself: it will ask for the involvement of the Spanish state, through its Secretariat for Telecommunications, and of the Valencian regional government, and will forward the agreement to both the relevant authorities and the companies operating in Sagunto. For those behind the motion, there is no real territorial equality without first closing the digital divide, so that every resident, whatever neighbourhood they live in, can access jobs, public resources and online services on equal terms.
The agreement was approved in the middle of summer, when the population of Puerto de Sagunto grows noticeably and relying on a mobile phone -to pay, work remotely or handle everyday matters- becomes increasingly common among both year-round residents and those just passing through. According to Sagunto City Council, with the motion also reported by El Periódico de Aquí.