Pendine in Carmarthenshire, renowned as a location for land speed record attempts, is one the latest places in Wales to begin to benefit from superfast broadband thanks to Superfast Cymru.
The first households and businesses served by the Pendine exchange can now place orders for superfast broadband, with more set to join them over the coming months as the rollout continues.
The area is no stranger to speed with land speed record attempts held on Pendine sands since the 1920s when Malcolm Campbell made his first attempt in the famous Blue Bird.
Superfast Cymru is a partnership between the Welsh Government and BT, with additional funding from Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
It is bringing superfast broadband speeds to areas which would otherwise not receive it.
The rollout is just beginning in Pendine and residents who would like to place an order – or find out when they’re likely to be able to do so – should visit www.superfast-cymru.com.
More than 40,000 premises in Carmarthenshire can now access superfast broadband thanks to the Superfast Cymru programme, which is in addition to some commercial rollout of fibre broadband by the private sector in the county. Work is continuing across the county as engineers from BT’s local network business, Openreach, connect more and more premises every day, often in challenging conditions.
Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, Julie James said:
“Pendine has a long history linked with speed, and is famous for it. Now the first homes and businesses here can begin to be able to able access superfast broadband, with more gaining access over the coming months as the rollout continues.
“We have intervened to provide access to superfast services as private sector companies decided it was not commercially viable for them alone to rollout fibre in these areas. Over 560,000 premises in all parts of Wales are now able to access it thanks to the programme and work is continuing to provide access for more homes and businesses.”
The superfast speeds enable much faster and better use of the internet. For example, all members of a household can quickly do their own thing online, all at the same time, whether that is streaming high definition films, downloading music, gaming, studying or keeping in touch with loved ones.
The Superfast Cymru programme is a huge undertaking that will involve Openreach engineers laying 17,500kms of optical fibre cable, installing around 3,000 new green roadside cabinets and sees, on average, more than 100 premises getting access to superfast broadband across Wales every hour.
If households or businesses are able to receive superfast broadband, the upgrade will not happen automatically and they should contact their Internet Service Provider (ISP) to order the service.
The Welsh Government also provides grants for businesses to have Ultrafast broadband with up to £10,000 available for the installation of services. Homes and businesses which cannot receive superfast broadband through Superfast Cymru can also receive grants to have faster broadband in other ways, such as satellite.
Further details on these schemes are available on: gov.wales/broadband
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