Dear resident,
Thank you for your past contact regarding broadband.
During my time as your Assembly Member, one of the issues which has dominated my postbag has been the availability of broadband in Montgomeryshire.
My role as the Chairman of the National Assembly’s Cross Party Group on Digital Communications has allowed me to campaign for the prioritisation of broadband in Mid Wales, to ensure that residents and businesses across Montgomeryshire do not miss out from the rollout of fibre broadband.
While there have been some delays and challenges to deliver the Superfast Cymru project in rural areas of Powys, two thirds of residents and businesses in Montgomeryshire now have access to fibre broadband and can place an order for fibre with their chosen provider if they wish to do so. To find out whether you are able to access fibre broadband, please visit the Superfast Cymru website at www.superfast-cymru.com
Broadband in Montgomeryshire
Superfast Broadband – over 24 Mbit/s – 54.1%
Fibre Broadband – less than 24 Mbit/s – 13%
Non-Fibre Broadband – 32.9%
Premises receiving less than 15 Mbit/s – 40.8%
Premises receiving less than 10 Mbit/s – 35.9%
Premises receiving less than 2 Mbit/s – 3.8%
Being able to access a reliable and efficient internet connection is rapidly becoming essential and I am pleased that the telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has recently committed to making affordable broadband a universal right for all UK homes and small businesses.
Whether connecting with family and friends, helping children to study from home or running a local business, digital connectivity is now critical to our day-to-day lives; and provision should not be a postcode lottery.
However, in spite of the progress, 3.8% of premises in Montgomeryshire are still unable to receive more than 2 Mbit/s and there is still a lot of work to do to ensure that more isolated areas also benefit from this digital upgrade. Indeed, I know that many of you would agree with my own disappointment at the way in which BT has communicated with those who are going to miss out from the initial Superfast Cymru rollout.
I have communicated these concerns with BT’s senior management who have provided me with assurances that communication channels with Openreach will improve to ensure that faults are quickly addressed and long overdue clarity is provided to those residents who will definitely miss out so that they can make alternative arrangements through the Welsh Government’s other support schemes.
The Access Broadband Cymru scheme provides support for up to 90% of the installation costs of alternative broadband solution such as wireless or satellite that are capable of delivering stable superfast download speeds, although grant beneficiaries are not required to subscribe to superfast services if they do not wish to. This grant support is available for premises across Wales that are unable to achieve a consistent broadband connection of 2 Mbit/s or above. For more information, please visit www.gov.wales/docs/det/publications/131001app-en.pdf
Businesses are also eligible to apply for the Welsh Government’s Ultra-fast Connectivity Voucher Scheme under which the Welsh Government provides 100% funding for the first £3000 and then 50% funding from £3000 to £17,000 for the installation costs to deliver a dedicated line providing a minimum of 100 Mbit/s. This link will give you further information: http://gov.wales/topics/science-and-technology/digital/infrastructure/business-broadband/?lang=en
In addition to this, the Openreach Community Fibre Partnership could present an opportunity for remote locations, depending on the number of people who are affected by the lack of service. If there is a critical mass of people who miss out from the Superfast Cymru rollout, the community could look at aggregating funding from the aforementioned Access Broadband Cymru grant scheme and then the Openreach Community Fibre Partnership means that Openreach will match fund the project. More information is available by following this link: http://www.superfast-openreach.co.uk/the-big-build/Fibre-roll-out.aspx
I hope that this update has been helpful but if you have any questions or feel that I can support you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards
Russell