RESIDENTS in the Yscir ward are being invited to express an interest in signing up for superfast broadband at one of four events being staged this week. It comes after a campaign by county councillor Iain McIntosh helped demonstrate there was adequate local demand for such a connection.
With the support of Welsh government funding, Camarthenshire-based Dyfed Superfast has now been chosen to deliver a high-speed broadband connection which will deliver speeds of over 30mbps
Like much of rural Wales, Yscir has some of the poorest connectivity in the country with speeds of less than 1mbps. Dyfed IT will be installing a series of masts across the region to create a fixed wireless access netwok.
Cllr Iain McIntosh was able to gain Welsh government support after he went round knocking on every door in the Yscir ward he represents and managed to acquire signatures from more than 200 properties on a petition.
Cllr McIntosh said: “During my election campaign it became clear that poor internet speeds was fast becoming the most pressing issue for the community. I made it my priority to find a better solution for the ward, given the lack of coverage from BT and OpenReach.”
Cllr McIntosh organised a steering group to meet with potential independent providers. Dyfed Superfast was selected unanimously. He added: “The Welsh Government has allocated significant funding to ensure rural Wales has access to better broadband, but only a handful of remote communities have applied for it. By taking control and using an evidence-based approach to find an alternative route to high-speed internet we will be able to transform internet connectivity within Yscir. I’m delighted to have found a provider to bring better internet to the residents of Yscir and I encourage other county councillors and community leaders to do the same in other remote areas.”
The four public sign-up events fall on the following dates: Friday, February 9 – Llanfihangel Nant Bran Hall 6pm-9pm; Saturday, February 10 – Upper Chapel village hall 10am-4pm; Sunday, February 11 – Cradoc Golf Club 10am-4pm; Monday, February 12 – Trallong Church Hall 6pm-9pm.