Internet short cut for Welsh village with the longest name
Superfast Cymru making fibre broadband available to a thousand more premises every week
The Welsh village with the longest name in the UK has succeeded in at least making one thing a whole lot shorter – the time it takes to surf the internet.
High-speed fibre broadband has just arrived in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, or Llanfair PG for short, bringing with it much quicker internet access.
This means many homes and businesses in the Isle of Anglesey community, located just across the Menai Straits, can download a whole music album in less than 30 seconds, or upload large business files in minutes.
Alwyn Ellis, from Llanfair PG, a retired former electrical engineer, is an avid internet user who can’t wait to experience fibre broadband for himself. He said: “I’m really looking forward to getting fibre broadband. It will be a real boost to the village as a whole. I carry out some work for charities and still have an active interest in the engineering support services provided to the building trade. This will make a big difference to the speed with which I can download and send plans and spreadsheets and access the internet generally.”
The latest upgrade is part of the Superfast Cymru project, a partnership between the Welsh Government and BT which is taking the technology the length and breadth of Wales, to areas not covered by the private sector’s commercial plans.
The roll-out in the North West corner of Wales is now providing fibre broadband to thousands of homes and businesses in Bangor, Caernarvon, Pwllheli and Menai Bridge, which includes Llanfair PG.
Work is also well underway in other parts of North West Wales including the Dolgellau, Llanwnda, Port Dinorwic, Pothmadog and Waunfawr areas with fibre broadband expected to be available to many homes and businesses in the summer.
Superfast Cymru will involve the laying of around 17,500 kilometres of optical fibre cable and the installation of around 3,000 new fibre broadband cabinets in streets the length and breadth of Wales.
Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, Jeff Cuthbert, said: “Through Superfast Cymru we are making Wales one of the most connected countries in the world. High-speed broadband is essential to ensure that residential properties have access to the services and opportunities provided by digital technologies.
“Access to next-generation broadband is also vital to businesses across Wales, helping them to become more efficient and competitive. It has already arrived in Llanfair PG but this is just the start, by the time the project has finished, 96 per cent of premises in Wales will have access to high speed broadband.”
Ed Hunt, BT programme director for Superfast Cymru, said: “We are taking great strides now in North West Wales, making fibre broadband available to around a thousand more homes and businesses every week. This is fantastic news for Llanfair PG and for Wales as a whole. The fibre network continues to expand with Superfast Cymru, bringing a boost for local economies wherever it goes.
“An increasing proportion of households and businesses in Wales now have access to fibre broadband with many internet users already discovering the whole new world this technology opens up to them. Whatever you’re doing online, you can do it better and faster with fibre.
“Fibre broadband can really help local firms in these economically challenging times, opening up new ways of working and speeding up vital operations, such as file and data transfers, conferencing and computer back-up, all of which may also help cut costs.”
Superfast Cymru is the largest partnership of its kind in the UK and will help the Welsh Government achieve its aim of taking high speed broadband to 96 per cent of Welsh homes and businesses.
Further details of the Superfast Cymru programme, including areas in Wales that are part of the roll-out, are available at www.superfast-cymru.com.
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