Janet Finch-Saunders MS – the Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy – has welcomed the news that 7,309 premises across the constituency will be connected to full-fibre broadband by Openreach. Fibre broadband can provide download speeds of 1 Gbps, meaning it is up to 10 times faster than the average home broadband connection.
The specific timings of the roll-out are currently pending, though this figure is in addition to existing coverage or planned build from other Openreach programmes, Community Fibre Partnerships, or funded programmes. This move will also contribute to creating a total of 7,000 new jobs across Openreach and their broader supply chain.
Commenting on the news, Janet said:
“A fast and reliable broadband connection has become an everyday necessity, especially in the past year. As working from home becomes a trend that shows no sign of abating, I welcome the news that Openreach are doubling down on investment to connect a further 7,309 premises across the constituency.
“This announcement will confront the startling fact that 66% of recent survey respondents stated they had been impacted by poor broadband. The digital divide continues to have a lasting impact on the success and well-being of our rural communities, so I will be watching this roll-out closely.
“As industry officials have made plain in our continued discussions on the matter, delivering upgraded connectivity to hard-to-reach locations is often a major engineering challenge with high costs. Despite this, I remain committed to finding a solution that delivers parity of access between our rural and urban communities.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- Janet recently questioned the Minister for Climate Change to confirm what steps were being taken by Welsh Government to ensure that Wales had access to a comprehensive full-fibre network. You can find out more by reading the press release found here.
- The full Openreach press release can be found here. For more information, please contact Eurig Thomas in the Openreach PR team on [email protected].
