The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), which wants to bring superfast broadband to all businesses by the middle of 2016 and households by 2020 ('Digital Wales'), has called for suppliers and ISPs across Europe and the UK to attend an event where they will learn of its plans and bid for contracts.

The Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones, will open the event on Wednesday 26th January 2011 at the Redrow Suite, Cardiff City Stadium, which will include strategic, commercial and technical briefings, followed by a question and answer forum.


The Assembly Government intends to use public funding, most likely from the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) office, to accelerate the deployment of Next Generation Access (NGA) broadband infrastructure in any areas where there is a genuine requirement for government intervention due to a prevailing market failure.


According to WAG, one third of the adult population in Wales does not use the internet and high speed broadband is still not available in many parts of the country. Reversing that trend will be key to helping Wales prosper in the future. Just 35% of Wales is expected to benefit from super-fast broadband solutions through Private Sector investment alone.