Half a Million Extra Premises in Wales Reached by Superfast Broadband

The state aid supported Superfast Cymru project has today announced that they’ve helped to put an additional 504,352 premises within reach of “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) services, which equates to coverage of 79% across Wales.

The project, which is supported by public funding worth around £225 million, is currently working with BT to make “fibre broadband” (FTTC/P) connectivity available to 96% of Wales by the end of 2016 (691,000 extra premises) and a second deal will then extend the service to another 42,000 homes and businesses by June 2017.

On top of that Airband, a fixed wireless broadband provider, is also pushing “superfast broadband” out to cater for 2,000 more premises in business parks and industrial estates across Wales by Summer 2016.

Julie James, Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, said:

“Breaking the half a million barrier is a significant milestone for Superfast Cymru. That’s over half a million premises in Wales which would otherwise not have access to faster broadband without the intervention of Superfast Cymru.

The way we do business today and the way we live our lives means fast and reliable internet connections are vital. That’s why the Welsh Government has invested in Superfast Cymru, ensuring Wales is one of the most connected countries in Europe.

This is a great day for Superfast Cymru, but the work is far from over. It is a challenging programme and BT engineers are continuing to work day in day out to bring superfast broadband to communities across Wales.”

Meanwhile the take-up of related services in areas that have benefitted from the project currently stands at 15.6% (June 2015) and the Welsh Government has a take-up target for superfast broadband of 50% by 2024, which should help to release some clawback funding from BT for reinvestment into future projects that will help tackle the remaining gaps and there are plenty of those left (particularly in the sparse rural middle of Wales)