Christmas comes early for Wick thanks to Superfast Cymru
Residents and businesses in the rural village of Wick had an early Christmas present this year – access to superfast broadband.
To celebrate the occasion, children from the local Wick and Marcross Primary School ‘unwrapped’ the roadside cabinet that will be delivering superfast internet speeds to the village as a result of the Superfast Cymru programme.
Joining the local school children in the festive unwrapping of the upgraded cabinet was the Welsh Government Minister for Finance Jane Hutt and local Cardiff Blues star, Lloyd Williams.
Speaking before the event, Jane Hutt said: “I am pleased that European funding is supporting this ambitious programme which will help promote and drive economic growth throughout Wales.
“Superfast Cymru is playing a vital role in helping make Wales a truly digital nation and ensuring we’re on track to become one of the best connected countries in the world.
“More and more communities are enjoying the many benefits of receiving fast fibre broadband be that in business, at home or on the move and by Spring 2016 we’re aiming to see 96 per cent of premises in Wales have access to high-speed fibre broadband.”
With nearby Cowbridge and Ogmore-by-Sea having already been ‘switched on’ to the benefits of superfast broadband, properties in the picturesque Vale of Glamorgan village of Wick will now be able to join their neighbours in enjoying maximum download speeds of up to 80Mbps and maximum upload speeds of up to 20Mbps*
Superfast Cymru, a partnership between the Welsh Government, UK Government, the European Regional Development Fund and BT, has now rolled out high-speed fibre broadband to more than 293,000 homes and businesses across the country. It is the largest partnership of its kind in the UK.
The Superfast Cymru programme is a huge undertaking laying 17,500kms of optical fibre cable and installing around 3,000 new green roadside cabinets across Wales.
Work is now taking place in every single local authority area in Wales with approximately 400 BT engineers having worked more than 400,000 hours on the project.
Christmas shopping has been transformed by online shopping and by the number of internet-reliant gifts like laptops, games consoles and smartphones.
According to global information research company Experian, UK consumers made 115 million visits to retail websites in just one day – December 2 - in the run up to Christmas last year*.
Households can help the digital devices under the Christmas tree – including tablets, gaming consoles, on demand TV and smartphones – run at optimum speed by signing up for fibre broadband.
Information about the roll-out is published on the Superfast Cymru website (www.superfast-cymru.com) including a coverage map which provides details of roll-out plans looking approximately 12 months ahead.
* These are the top wholesale speeds available from by BT’s local network business, Openreach, to all service providers; speeds offered by service providers may vary.
* Experian Cyber Monday research http://www.experian.co.uk/marketing-services/about/news/cyber-monday-biggest-shopping-day-ever-seen-in-uk.html
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For information about which exchange areas are already enabled go to the coverage map onhttp://www.superfast-cymru.com/where-and-when
The latest images of the Superfast Cymru roll-out are available for download at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/107803477@N08/sets/72157644203054472/
About the Welsh Government and Superfast Cymru
The Welsh Government is the devolved Government for Wales. We are working to help improve the lives of people in Wales and make our nation a better place in which to live and work.
The Welsh Government and BT are working in partnership on the 'Superfast Cymru' programme to develop a nationwide superfast broadband infrastructure.
Superfast Cymru will boost commercial roll-out and help the Welsh Government achieve its target to deliver high speed fibre broadband to 96% of homes and businesses in Wales by 2016.
Superfast Cymru is set to transform the broadband landscape in Wales and to promote economic growth and sustainable jobs in Wales. We have estimated that up to 2,500 further full times jobs could be created throughout the Welsh economy over time. It will ensure we are at the forefront of the global digital economy and help to champion Wales as a great place to live, work, invest and visit.
About Superfast Britain
Superfast Britain is a UK Government programme of investment in broadband and communication infrastructure across the UK. Run by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, this investment helps businesses to grow, creates jobs and will make Britain more competitive in the global race. The portfolio is comprised of three elements
• £780m to extend superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017
• £150m to provide high speed broadband to businesses in 22 cities
• £150m to improve quality and coverage of mobile phone and basic data network services
Administered on behalf of Government by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), Superfast Britain is transforming Britain by promoting growth, enabling skills and learning, and improving quality of life.
For further information: https://www.gov.uk/broadband-delivery-uk
