ISP Dyfed Superfast Brings Wireless Broadband to Yscir in Wales

The remote rural community of Yscir in the county of Powys (Wales) looks set to gain access to “superfast broadband” speeds of 30Mbps+ after Carmarthenshire-based ISP Dyfed Superfast (Dyfed IT) announced that it had won a contract to deploy a series of masts across the region.

Residents in Yscir are known to suffer some of the slowest internet speeds in the UK, with downloads of less than 1Mbps being fairly common (largely due to ancient first generation ADSL services and long copper lines). However one local councillor, Iain McIntosh, has been campaigning to solve this and as part of that he even went door-to-door during September 2017 to collect signatures of support from over 200 properties.

Cllr McIntosh told ISPreview.co.uk:

“During my election campaign it became clear that poor internet speeds was fast becoming the most pressing issue for the community. I made it my priority as an elected councillor to find a better solution for the ward, given the lack of coverage and cooperation from BT and OpenReach.

The Welsh Government has allocated significant funding to ensure rural Wales has access to better broadband, but only a handful of remote communities have applied for it. By taking control and using an evidence based approach to find an alternative route to high-speed internet we will be able to transform internet connectivity within Yscir.

I’m delighted to have found a provider to bring better internet to the residents of Yscir and I encourage other county councillors and community leaders to do the same in other remote areas.”

Cllr McIntosh organised a steering group to meet with potential independent providers. Dyfed Superfast, which has already deployed a network to the rural Brecon Beacons National Park area (here), was selected “unanimously” given their track record.

Exact details of the mast sites, coverage and funding involved have not been revealed, although we suspect that it may harness an aggregation of the Welsh Government’s Access Broadband Cymru voucher scheme (i.e. grants worth up to £400-£800 per property to help get a faster connection installed).

As part of the project, village halls in Llanfihangel Nant Bran, Upper chapel and Trallong will receive free internet to help support the community and provide greater access to online resources. Dyfed Superfast will also have a means-tested solution available for low-income households.

Customers of the new service can expect to pay from £19.99 inc. VAT per month for an ‘up to’ 10Mbps download speed with unlimited usage or £29.99 for 30Mbps (plus free installation with the voucher scheme).