On Friday 18th September, Russell George, Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire, chaired a meeting at the Elephant & Castle Hotel in Newtown to discuss the progress of Superfast Cymru, alongside the project's director, Ed Hunt.
Community leaders from areas which are yet to be fibre-enabled were in attendance as well as representatives from local business groups.
Following the meeting, Mr George said:
My postbag continues to be dominated by frustrated residents and businesses asking for more clarity from BT about when they will have access to fibre broadband.
I was therefore pleased to be able to welcome the Director of the Superfast Cymru project, Ed Hunt, to a roundtable discussion for community leaders in Montgomeryshire so that we could learn more about how the project is progressing in Mid Wales.
The meeting was productive and I was encouraged to learn that the project is on track with 53% of premises in Montgomeryshire already able to receive fibre broadband, but clearly the pressure needs to be kept up.
88% of premises in both Newtown and Welshpool can already receive a superfast service and work is progressing in more rural areas too with many more areas set to benefit from fibre broadband between now and the conclusion of the project. It's my role to scrutinise the Welsh Government to ensure they meet their target of providing 96% of premises in Wales with access to fast fibre broadband by Spring of next year.
Superfast Cymru is a partnership between the Welsh Government, BT, UK Government and the European Regional Development Fund.
Mr George added:
It's good news that 96% of premises in Wales will benefit from this broadband upgrade, but due to its rural makeup, I'm concerned that a high proportion of the final 4% may be in Montgomeryshire.
I'm therefore keen to ensure that these premises aren't forgotten and I would like people to be told as early as possible if they are not going to benefit from the project so that the viability of other solutions such as wireless, satellite and mobile broadband can be explored.
As a result of some of the concerns expressed at the meeting about the way in which BT communicates with residents, BT has agreed to make improvements to its website and provide more detailed information for consumers on the projected availability of the upgraded service.
If you would like information on your specific circumstances, I would urge you to visit the Superfast Cymru website at www.superfast-cymru.com or you are welcome to contact me and I will make enquiries on your behalf.