Penmachno in Wales Builds Own WiFi Network to Tackle Poor Mobile Signal

Residents living in the tiny North Wales (UK) village of Penmachno in the isolated upland Machno valley area, which has long been known to suffer from flaky mobile coverage, have banded together to tackle the issue by installing a “cutting-edge, free WiFi [mesh] system” in the centre of the community.

According to the press release, the village receives “absolutely no mobile phone service.” But the admittedly unreliable coverage checkers from Three UK, O2 and EE do all claim to be able to deliver “good” outdoor coverage of 4G (mobile broadband) signals across at least part of the area.

However, there’s often a wide gap in experience between such estimates from mobile operators and the reality of daily end-user service reception, especially when stuck indoors where the signal is usually at its weakest (people at home spend most of their time indoors, so this is very relevant).

The lack of mobile service has not only hindered communication but “also means that businesses pay more for electricity, power-cuts last longer, the local bus service cannot locate passengers, the mobile library cannot process tickets and people have been unable to phone the emergency services when injured,” said a statement by the community council.

In response, the local Community Council decided to take matters into their own hands and, working with volunteers, installed a “comprehensive WiFi network in the village” – funded by contributions from both a local charity and the National Park Authority (NPA).

Daniel Tomos, Clerk of the Community Council, said:

“This is a significant milestone for Penmachno. Our village has always been known for its strong sense of community, and this project is a testament to what we can achieve when we come together. Looking back, I remember children in the village huddling outside the pub to connect their phones. The new WiFi system will not only keep the whole community connected but also ensures the safety and well-being of residents and visitors to the village.”

The new “state-of-the-art WiFi system” is said to provide “seamless, high-speed internet access” to the chapel, church, village hall, park, pub, gallery as well as the new community hub and even the public toilets, which are run by the community.

“This enables residents to stay in touch with loved ones, work remotely and keep track of the rugby score during Friday night choir practices. The church has benefited from a new contactless donation facility, residents can enter the public toilet with one tap on the new card machine and the community hub has wifi-controlled heating,” added the statement.

Little is known about the technical side of the network setup or its capabilities. But we should point out that Openreach’s older hybrid-fibre (FTTC) fixed line broadband network does already cover much of the village with 30Mbps+ capable speeds.