16 left-behind places in rural North Wales to finally get superfast broadband
Work has begun on bringing full fibre broadband to some of the most rural homes in North and Mid Wales. Openreach's latest roll-out aims to connect up some of the 'most hard-to-reach areas' at the back of the queue for superfast internet.
In the coming months, Openreach engineers will be visiting 16 communities in Gwynedd, Denbighshire and Powys to deliver 'some of the fastest, most reliable broadband anywhere in Europe'.
The upgrades are part of Project Gigabit, a government-funded programme targeting homes and businesses that – because of their locations - might otherwise miss out on fast, reliable broadband. Up to £800m was made available to Openreach last year to benefit around 312,000 premises across the UK.
The company said the "once-in-a-generation" upgrade will benefit hundreds of properties in the region. Some are in communities that already have partial access to full fibre broadband such as Llangollen and Corwen.
Known as fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) or gigabit broadband, the upgrade will leave affected areas having access to speeds of up to 1 Gbp, as follows:
Denbighshire: Corwen, Llangollen, Glanrafon, Maerdy, Llandrillo, Betws Gwerfil Goch.
Corwen, Llangollen, Glanrafon, Maerdy, Llandrillo, Betws Gwerfil Goch. Gwynedd: Llandderfel, Llaniestyn.
Llandderfel, Llaniestyn. Powys: Penegoes, Abercegir, Talywern, Llansilin, Llanwrin, Aberhosan, Melin-Bryhedyn and Castle Caereinion.
Telecoms Minister Sir Chris Bryant said: 'I'm thrilled to see spades in the ground to bring fast, reliable broadband to communities in Wales that have long struggled with poor connectivity.
'This isn't just about faster internet. Whether it's families streaming without interruption, farmers adopting smart technologies, or small businesses reaching new markets, we're laying the foundations that drive economic growth and unlock opportunity across the country.'
Openreach engineers are also due to carry out full-fibre work in Monmouthshire and south Powys. Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now
As well as providing enough capacity to meet growing data demands, fibre technology should boost all online experiences – from seamless streaming and gaming in homes to smooth video calls, banking and customer interactions for businesses.
In total, Openreach's Full Fibre network now reaches more than one million across Wales.
Martin Williams, partnership director for Wales, said: 'This is a major infrastructure upgrade in partnership with UK Government, so there will be more engineering teams, equipment and vans around, and we're working hard to keep disruption to a minimum.
'Wherever possible, we'll use our existing network of ducts and poles to avoid roadworks, new street furniture and disturbance. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
"But there may be places where we need to install new poles, underground ducts and fibre cables because it's the only way to make sure households get included in the upgrade.'
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