Another four Welsh communities will have broadband access by the end of the summer, as BT continues to upgrade networks in rural parts of the country.
The project, which is co-funded by the Welsh Assembly, will see Beulah and Ystrad Meurig in Ceredigion, and Cil-y-Cwm and Llanfynydd in Carmarthenshire, connected by the end of the summer.
Since 2006, BT and the assembly have rolled out broadband to 8,500 rural areas in Wales, with six towns upgraded last year.
“Access to the digital world is crucial in a modern global economy and we cannot afford to leave anybody behind,” said Welsh Deputy First Minister for the economy and transport, Ieuan Wyn Jones. “This is why we have committed to finding ways for the relatively few areas in Wales that remain unable to access broadband.”
BT spokesman Chris Orum admitted that the connections weren’t “particularly fast”, but said they should give a minimum level of broadband of roughly 2Mbits/sec.
Rolling out broadband to such rural areas is difficult and expensive because of the distance to exchanges, which is why the project is partially funded by the assembly, he said. “Commercially, you need to do it with a third party,” he said.
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