Communities in North Wales are set to move from the digital slow lane. Around 37,000 homes and businesses across Wales will no longer be stuck with slow internet speeds.
It is part of the UK Government’s rollout of gigabit connectivity – with a £79 million contract been signed by the UK Government and telecoms provider Openreach.
This will benefit all the counties in North Wales, with Betws-y-Coed, Corwen, and Llangollen among the towns and villages to get the upgrade.
Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said: “Powered by this UK Government investment, thousands more people and businesses across Wales will have access to ultra-fast broadband. Our top priority is to drive sustained economic growth. To achieve this, it is vital that every part of Wales has full coverage quickly as possible to boost productivity in all our communities.”
Across the UK, over one million hard-to-reach premises already have access to upgrades thanks to UK Government investment. Over 85 per cent of the country can now access gigabit connections, putting the UK in a strong position to meet the government’s target of full gigabit coverage by 2030.
Openreach CEO Clive Selley, said: “Our new Full Fibre broadband network now reaches more than half of all properties in the UK, and we’re confident we can reach as many as 30 million premises by the end of the decade, assuming the right regulatory and investment conditions exist. This is a British infrastructure success story which experts say will boost productivity by £73 billion and bring a raft of social and environmental benefits for the country. We believe that everyone deserves access to fast and reliable broadband, and we’re proud that this partnership will help extend our ultrafast, ultra-reliable network to areas that would otherwise be left behind by the private sector.”
Telecoms Minister, Sir Chris Bryant, said: “For families and businesses across rural Wales, fighting for bandwidth with neighbours will soon be a thing of the past, thanks to this UK Government programme bringing lightning-fast internet to rural areas.
“Better broadband will not only enhance the quality of life for tens of thousands of homes and businesses across rural Wales, such as in Flintshire and Conwy, but it will also help us put an end to disparities between urban and rural areas, making Britain a fairer place for all.”