03
December
2014
|
23:00
Europe/London

Superfast Cymru celebrates 1000th fibre broadband cabinet

Another major milestone has been passed today (Thursday, 04 December) under the Superfast Cymru programme as Nelson celebrates having the 1000th superfast broadband cabinet.

The Caerphilly village is the latest community to benefit from superfast internet speeds in Wales as a new green roadside cabinet that serves the area ‘goes live’ with fast fibre. .

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 293,000 homes and businesses across the country.

Local florist, Gordon Jones, who runs Nelson based - The Cottage Garden Florist -welcomed the latest milestone saying: “This is fantastic news for not only our business but Nelson as a whole.”

“We regularly use live auction sites in Holland to order our stock but our connection is currently very restrictive and we struggle to access multiple websites. With faster connectivity as a result of Superfast Cymru we’ll be able to be more competitive in what is a very tough market.

“I’ve already placed my order to get superfast broadband installed – I’d encourage everybody to take advantage.”

Superfast broadband enables businesses to work faster and more efficiently, reduces their need to travel and helps them to create jobs and expand.

At home, superfast broadband is not just about a faster internet experience or about doing one thing quicker. It’s about everyone in the house being able to do their own thing online, all at the same time, whether that is streaming films, downloading music, studying or keeping in touch with loved ones.

The most widely used technology is fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband, which offers maximum download speeds of up to 80Mbps and maximum upload speeds of up to 20Mbps*

Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, Julie James, said: “The Superfast Cymru programme is moving at pace and it’s great news we have reached yet another important landmark in the project as more and more people enjoy the many benefits of fast fibre broadband.

“Residents and businesses in Nelson are the latest to benefit and more communities throughout Wales will be able to take advantage of receiving superfast speeds as we progress towards reaching our ambitious target of delivering access to 96% of properties by the end of Spring 2016.

“The Welsh Government is committed to seeing Wales become a truly digital nation and Superfast Cymru is vital in helping make us one of the best connected countries in the world.”

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.

So far, 293,000 homes and businesses have access to fibre broadband and work has already begun in every single local authority area in Wales with approximately 400 BT engineers having worked more than 400,000 hours on the project.

Superfast Cymru is the largest partnership of its kind in the UK. It is working to achieve, when combined with commercial roll-outs by the private sector, the Welsh Government’s aim of providing 96% of premises in Wales with access to fast fibre broadband by the end of Spring 2016.

Funding of £205m has been provided by Welsh Government, the UK Government and the European Regional Development Fund, with BT contributing a further £220m to deliver fibre across Wales via its commercial roll-out and the Superfast Cymru programme.

Households and businesses which want to take advantage of the benefits of fast fibre broadband should contact an internet service provider (ISP) of their choice to place an order.

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.

Notes
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.