30
November
2014
|
23:00
Europe/London

Superfast Cymru makes a splash for RNLI

BT members of the Superfast Cymru team will be donning their swimsuits and braving the elements later this year when they join the hundreds that take part in the annual Saundersfoot New Year’s Day Swim.

Made up from a mixture of managers, engineers and marketers, the Superfast Cymru team will be raising money for the much loved local RNLI in Tenby.

Alan Farmer from Openreach, BT’s local network business, and one of the BT team working on Superfast Cymru, said: “As people in Pembrokeshire will know we’ve been working hard in Pembrokeshire bringing fast fibre broadband to communities throughout the area.

“We’ve had such a warm welcome from everybody we wanted to show our appreciation by supporting a charity that plays such a vital role in the community.

“Taking a dip in the icy Saundersfoot sea will certainly be a change to our day jobs of being up a telegraph pole or having our heads in roadside cabinets but it’s for a very worthy cause and we hope to collect as much money as possible.”

Money raised by BT members of the Superfast Cymru team will be used to help the RNLI to train and equip Tenby’s lifesavers.

Tenby RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Phil Rees, said:“As a charity which relies on voluntary contributions and legacies for income, we are so grateful that the BT team has chosen to raise funds for Tenby RNLI by taking part in The Saundersfoot New Year’s Day Swim.

“Our volunteer crews put to sea whatever the weather, so it’s heart-warming to see people braving the winter chill to do their bit to raise much-needed funds for our lifesaving charity. Funds raised will help ensure our crews can continue saving lives at sea.”

In addition to Alan Farmer the BT team will include Ynyr Roberts, Lee Marston, Owain Twitchett, Ashlee Thomas, Rhys Thomas, Alan Farmer, Wes Sheldon, Leighton Quick, James Stephens and colleagues from Carillion Telent.

Delivering high speed fibre broadband across Wales, Superfast Cymru is a partnership between BT and Welsh Government, with additional funding from UK Government and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

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

Fibre broadband will help transform the broadband landscape across Wales and enable local businesses in Pembrokeshire to compete on a global level. High-speed broadband makes it possible for businesses to be located anywhere and improve opportunities for business creativity and entrepreneurship.

At home, fibre broadband enables a family to simultaneously download a movie, watch a TV replay service, surf the internet and play games online all at the same time. A whole album can be downloaded in less than 30 seconds and a feature length HD movie in less than 10 minutes, whilst high-resolution photos can be uploaded to Facebook in seconds.

Superfast broadband will be available in both Tenby and Saundersfoot in the New Year, while residents and businesses served off the Pembroke, Neyland, Milford Haven, Neyland, Jonstone and Haverfordwest exchanges can already access fast fibre.

Households and businesses who want superfast speeds need to contact an internet service provider (ISP) so sign up to receive fast fibre – the upgrade is not automatic. There are several ISPs offering fibre broadband in Wales so customers can shop around and choose the package that is best for them. If they choose not to upgrade to fibre broadband, they will be able to continue using their existing broadband service.

To find out when fibre broadband is coming to your area visit the Superfast Cymru website where information is provided for each postcode area in addition to the expected speed for each property:
www.superfastcymru.com

Donations can be made to the Superfast Cymru Saundersfoot Swim team at:
https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/superfastcymru

ends

For information about which exchange areas are already enabled go to the coverage map onhttp://www.superfast-cymru.com/where-and-when