The village of Llandybie in Carmarthenshire is the latest community in Wales to have access to some of the fastest and most reliable broadband speeds in Europe thanks to Openreach.
More than 200 homes across the Bro Dinefwr village will be part of the next generation of broadband technology by Openreach.
The Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP or full fibre) infrastructure will future-proof homes and businesses in Llandybie for decades to come.
FTTP has the potential to bring speeds of up to one gigabit per second (1Gbps), which is about 18 times faster than the current UK average. The faster speeds will allow Llandybie residents to work from home or download boxsets of their favourite show in seconds rather than minutes.
Welcoming the announcement, Adam Price, Assembly Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, said: “I know how important fast, reliable broadband is to my constituents. The lack of coverage has frustrated many of my constituents for many years, including here in Llandybie. As part of our ‘Connecting Carmarthenshire’ campaign, Jonathan Edwards MP and I organised a public meeting last year, attended by a representative of Openreach, to address the need for improved digital connectivity across the constituency.”
“I am delighted to see the new full fibre network operating in Llandybie which will benefit residents with access to ultrafast broadband speeds. It was also a pleasure to have the opportunity to chat with the engineers that live and work in the area who have built this new fibre network.
“Having fast, reliable broadband services is a given in today’s society and it is encouraging to witness this development and hear from Openreach of their commitment to engage with constituents to further extend fibre broadband across the constituency.
“I will of course continue to engage with Openreach for wider fibre broadband coverage for my constituents across Carmarthenshire, particularly those rural communities which haven’t yet had an upgrade.”
Local resident, Glen Smith, is now seeing the benefits of having ultrafast broadband connectivity. He said: ”After a long time of campaigning on behalf of the residents, with the support of Adam Price AM, we now have FTTP. The difference is astounding.”
“As a normal household, streaming and downloading is now faultless and any business will benefit greatly. It’s very easy to complain about Openreach but they have fulfilled their promise and I thank all involved for their commitment in getting ultrafast broadband to our community.”
In addition to having a hands-on go at splicing fibre, Mr Price also got an update on Openreach’s commitment to further extend fibre broadband in his constituency and across Wales.
With a workforce of more than 2,000 throughout Wales, Openreach has recruited more than 450 new roles, mostly trainee engineers, to help the business deliver ultrafast Fibre to the Premises, support evolving mobile networks and improve customer service over the last 24 months.
The visit was hosted by Connie Dixon, Openreach’s partnership director for Wales, who said: “We know good, reliable broadband is really important to local communities. We’re working hard on all fronts – independently and with partners – to give Wales the connectivity it needs.
“It was great to have the chance to show Adam Price what’s been done to build and connect his constituents to our full fibre network and outline the benefits that FTTP offers.
“People also need to remember that upgrades are not automatic, so I’d encourage residents of Llandybie and the wider community to see if they can take advantage of this new technology by visiting our fibre checker website – www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband .”
Openreach’s Fibre-to-the-Cabinet footprint, at speeds of up to 80Mbps, currently passes more than 1.3 million homes and business premises in Wales, where take-up of superfast services across all networks stands at around 53 per cent.
