Creating value in the community
06HISPASAT creates value in the community in different ways. On the one hand, as a result of its business, by providing communications services and satellite internet access; and, on the other hand, with social actions to help the community, both with actions carried out by its business and with unrelated initiatives.
Fight against the digital divide
Improvements in information and communication technologies (ICT) bring with them responses to key social challenges. However, their unequal distribution runs the risk that those people and communities that cannot access them will lag even further behind, thus creating a digital divide.
HISPASAT manages a key technology with respect to this problem. Satellites make it possible for Internet to reach anywhere on Earth, even those places where terrestrial networks do not reach. Accordingly, they have become a unique tool to bring the opportunities offered by ICTs anywhere in the world, reducing inequality and paving the way to social progress where infrastructure is lacking, making general and quality access to telecommunications services possible.
HISPASAT aspires to make its satellite service available to such people and, to the extent permitted by its activity, contributing to universal access to ICTs. Moreover, it aims to support initiatives and causes targeting the creation of social value.
HISPASAT develops projects to promote economic and social development and to contribute to reducing inequalities in access to information and communication technologies, focussing on three areas:
Driving the Spanish aerospace industry
Support for technological innovation initiatives
HISPASAT includes components manufactured in Spain in its satellites.
Spanish companies can validate their new satellite equipment by loading them onto HISPASAT satellites.
Industrial Return programme to continue investing in Spanish technology in the years following the construction of each of its satellites.
More than €1 billion has been generated in HISPASAT’s 30 years in business.
Social development and support for improving communications
Reducing the digital divide and access to technologies in areas with no connection
HISPASAT satellite services make it possible to extend connectivity to rural or remote areas where terrestrial networks do not reach or do not achieve 21st century quality levels. This allows for greater economic and social development in those places that, thanks to a satellite connection, can access the Internet to carry out any economic, educational or cultural activities.
Well-being Project
During this financial year, HISPASAT began a project through which between 4,000 and 8,000 new satellite Internet hot-spots will be deployed, from 2020, in specific isolated regions of Mexico that currently do not have such services.
SDG
Colombia WiFi hot-spots
In 2019 HISPASAT installed ten WiFi hot-spots in the Montes de María region of Colombia, where a quality connection is being offered at accessible prices.
SDG
Mexico Connected
In 2019 the client Elara completed the roll-out of all 2,500 HISPASAT satellite Internet connectivity hot-spots for the Mexico Connected project. This project, promoted by the Mexican Government’s Communications and Transport Secretariat (Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes – SCT) seeks to contribute to guaranteeing the constitutional right to broadband Internet access, facilitating Internet connectivity in public spaces that currently lack public connectivity such as schools, health centres, libraries, community centres and parks. Through the Mexico Connected project, an increasing number of students and teachers have access to broadband at their schools and universities; more and more doctors and medical personnel have connectivity in their clinics and health centres, and even more citizens can enjoy a free Internet connection in public spaces, like libraries and community centres.
SDG
Pilot connectivity projects to increase digitisation in the farming industry
In 2019 two pilot projects got underway to promote digital transformation in the rural agri-food sector and to bridge the digital divide in the field through technologies like satellites and WiFi hot-spots. The initiatives have been carried out in the provinces of Ávila and Alicante in Spain, in collaboration with local farmers and ranchers.
Driving the creation of economic value
- Extending the market for digital solutions
- Promoting efficient decision-making
- Increasing productivity
SDG
Reducing negative environmental impacts
- Reducing the consumption of water, fertilisers and phytosanitary products
- Guaranteeing product traceability
SDG
Ávila
In collaboration with Digitanimal, a producer of systems to locate and monitor cattle, the data emitted by the sensors worn by 130 animals on a 400 ha farm are collected via an antenna directed towards the HISPASAT fleet.
Alicante
Staff on this farm, which belongs to the Florette company, transmit real time data on crop management from their mobile devices, thanks to the availability of broadband that a WiFi hot-spot via satellite offers.
Natural disaster or emergency situations
Work in the area of emergencies and security to re-establish communications in the event of a disaster.
HISPASAT provides satellite connectivity solutions that allow the re-establishment of communications when a disaster occurs that destroys terrestrial networks. The satellite connection allows for a rapid roll-out, which allows rescue and reconstruction teams to carry out their activities, and it gives voice and data services to those affected.
Since 2015, HISPASAT has had an agreement with the United Nations committing it to provide satellite capacity and terminals to restore communications in natural disasters and emergencies, thereby assisting in the rescue and reconstruction tasks carried out by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations agency in charge of coordinating humanitarian aid. The agreement, promoted by the EMEA Satellite Operator’s Association (ESOA) and Global VSAT Forum (GVF), guarantees that HISPASAT and the other participating operators will provide full operational capacity by means of their satellite networks to the point of reception. The solution also includes ground equipment and reception terminals and the requisite training of those in charge of first intervention actions in disaster scenarios so they are able to deploy the communication solutions successfully.
Respecting human rights
In accordance with the United Nations guiding principles on human rights, HISPASAT bases its commitments in this area on respect for the International Charter of Human Rights and the principles on fundamental rights established in the Declaration on fundamental principles and rights in the work of the International Labour Organisation.
In line with this, when the company is undertaking its activities, its informs it partners about their responsibility to work in conformity with the principles that govern how HISPASAT behaves. In this sense we forbid discrimination, forced labour, people trafficking and child labour, and we are committed to safe and healthy working conditions and the dignity of individuals.
HISPASAT is aware of the key role and the responsibility that its various suppliers have to achieve responsible and sustainable supply procedures. To this effect, our general contracting conditions include the basic commitments that we request from our suppliers, which make up part of these processes in regard to respecting human rights, including labour rights.
Corporate volunteering
In 2019, HISPASAT’s participation in the Red Cross’ blood donation campaign is noteworthy, as well as a Christmas project in Brazil for children living in Jardim Gramacho, a neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro that lacks a great deal of resources, where HISPAMAR employees contributed milk, toys and new clothes.
Social action: projects to help the community
In 2019, HISPASAT has undertaken various initiatives and projects to help the community, related to the provision of services linked to satellite connections for humanitarian, educational, cultural and sporting projects:
In 2019, HISPASAT invested €2,214,360 in the community
Agreement with OPEN Arms: Connection for humanitarian tasks to be carried out
HISPASAT is providing satellite communications free of charge to the ships of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Proactiva Open Arms. The satellite operator hands over managed space capacity so that the NGO’s boats, the Open Arms and the Astral, can have satellite Internet access when carrying out lifesaving work in the Mediterranean, helping people who are trying to reach Europe to escape war or hardships in their countries of origin. The service is provided via the satellites Hispasat 30W-5 and Hispasat 30W-6, located at 30° West, whose coverage over the Mediterranean is ideal for this type of scenario.
Fundación Estudiantes: Wheelchair basketball school (EstuAMEB)
HISPASAT works with the foundation and the Madria Spina Bifida Association to promote the EstuAMEB wheelchair basketball school. This school makes it possible for young disabled boys and girls to play basketball and encourages their integration and normalisation. It helps to develop their game and psychomotor abilities as well as their social and educational skills. Also, it sponsors the bilingual learning campus “EstuCamp” for young wheelchair basketball players.
Summer Courses at El Escorial (UCM): Television signal
HISPASAT collaborated with Complutense University, providing the technological solution that allows television signals to be transmitted via a satellite link. This service can be used by news and TV programmes that wish to send up-to-date course images and news made and distributed by the Complutense University production company (UCMTV).
Barcelona’s Gran Teatre Liceu
HISPASAT collaborates in broadcasting features from the Liceu de Barcelona in order to bring opera closer to the people and to share their cultural activities.
Fundación Atresmedia: Entertaining children in hospitals
The operator supports the broadcast of the FAN3 channel that the foundation screens for children in hospital. HISPASAT helps broadcast this channel to 165 hospitals in all of Spain’s autonomous communities that currently benefit from this initiative. In this way, hospitalised children can have free access to 13 hours of uninterrupted, commercial-free programming from Mondays to Sundays, from 9a.m. to 10p.m. All its content is supervised by the Spanish Paediatrics Association (AEP) and by the Official Association of Psychologists (COP).
STEM Initiatives: Technical vocations for women
In 2019 HISPASAT held special event days to promote technical vocations for women among girls and young people. So, together with the Fundación Creática, the company organised a visit to the Arganda del Rey satellite control centre, during which female engineers from the company chatted to girls in order to serve as inspiration for their professional futures. Along the same lines, the company, working together with the Inspiring Girls Foundation, held another day event for girls at the INTA control centre at Maspalomas (Canary Islands), where the operator has one of its monitoring antennae.
Tax contributions
Within its commitment to the most scrupulous compliance with legality on a global scale, HISPASAT fosters a cooperative relationship with tax administrations, and contributes to economic and social development through its tax contributions in all the territories in which it operates.
Since 2015, all of HISPASAT is subject, together with the provisions of the Code of Ethics, to the Tax Practice Standard approved by the Board of Directors, and it is being adopted by the other entities under the parent company. The aim of this standard is to establish criteria for the way that HISPASAT acts, coordinates and monitors tax matters. In addition, HISPASAT is one of the companies included by the Tax Agency in the Code of Best Tax Practice, the principles of which apply to its decision-making in this arena.
HISPASAT is not present, and does not carry out any activities, in territories considered to be tax havens, in accordance with current legislation.
In 2019 the tax contributions to public administrations in all the countries in which the company operates totalled €29 million, calculated according to the OCDE methodology, which is based on cash criteria.
Total tax contributions
29 M €
Incurred 19M € (66%)
Collected 10M € (34%)
Tax on benefits incurred
8 M €
Spain 6M € (75%)
Brazil 2M € (25%)
Others 0 € (0%)