New proximity operators are emerging in Bolzano: SEA Cooperativa becomes a provider to bring connectivity to mountainous areas and joins Assoprovider. We interview the CEO, Oskar Clara, who shares his story with us.
Proximity operators are growing. SEA Cooperative, a company from San Martino in Badia, a small Italian municipality with just over a thousand inhabitants in the autonomous province of Bolzano, invests in telecommunications, becoming a provider and joining our association. We reached out to the founder of the company, Oskar Clara, to tell us more.
From energy to Internet to fill a market gap
Oskar tells us about the origins of his company, which was founded in 2001 with the aim of distributing electrical and thermal energy in the mountainous municipality of San Martino in Badia. Today, SEA Cooperativa is an entity that can count approximately 400 members:
"I put my skills as an electrical technician into the company, and we started with a board of directors that included three partners, then we grew over time thanks to the cooperative," Oskar explains to Assoprovider.
The difficulties then of the citizens of his common to have a quality Internet connection in areas not served by major telephone operators, led him to also become a proximity operator:
"A company must be skilled at filling market gaps and, above all, at offering useful services to people. In a mountainous area like ours, it was essential to work to help local citizens and businesses maintain competitiveness. For this reason, we approached the world of providers."
Today, Sea Cooperativa is involved in laying fiber optic cables and build its own wireless network through radio links.
"What fascinates me about proximity operators is being on the side of the people, listening to their feedback to offer efficient and functional services."
Membership in Assoprovider
Oskar has decided to join Assoprovider. He tells us that he did it mainly because other friendly providers advised him to join the association:
"We have very high expectations of the association. We request technical consultancy and, above all, the protection of our interests to continue to exist against the logic of multinationals and to provide essential services, especially in mountainous areas."
Oskar reveals the many bureaucratic obstacles he had to face to become a proximity operator, with the numerous bureaucratic requirements involved:
"Italian bureaucracy is endless. There is much talk of simplification, but over the years they have done very little for companies. We are convinced that Assoprovider will also fight on this front, to reduce bureaucracy and especially to prevent any future increase in bureaucratic requirements for proximity operators," concludes Oskar.