Welsh BDUK Scheme Brings Fibre Broadband to 190000 Premises

The state aid supported £425m Superfast Cymru project with BT in Wales, which aims to make faster “fibre broadband” (FTTC) speeds of up to 80Mbps available to 96% of premises by the end of spring 2016 (total of 700,000 premises), has confirmed that over 190,000 premises are now able to benefit thanks to its work.

The update, which comes shortly after Wales announced the next batch of 66 locations to be upgraded by June 2015 (here), notes that homes and businesses in 100 telephone exchange areas can now get access to the new service.

Ken Skates, Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, said:

“Superfast broadband has the ability to transform the way we live our lives. From accessing entertainment and communicating through social media to how businesses interact with customers and develop ways of working more efficiently, fast fibre broadband opens up a whole spectrum of opportunities.

The Welsh Government is fully committed to seeing Wales become a truly digital nation and ensuring we have the right infrastructure in place is vital in making that vision a reality.

Our plans for superfast broadband are the most ambitious in the UK providing faster broadband to a greater proportion of premises more quickly.

I’m very pleased that 100 exchange areas are now live in Wales thanks to the Superfast Cymru programme which means thousands of people can enjoy the benefits of faster internet speeds. The project continues at pace and will reach more communities and make a significant difference to businesses and households.”

However it’s important to remember that the £425m figure also includes BT’s existing commercial investment in the country. Overall £205m funding has been provided by the Welsh Government, the UK Government and the EU (ERDF), with BT contributing a further £220m to deliver FTTC across Wales via both its commercial roll-out and the Superfast Cymru programme.