More than £900,000 worth of funding is set to go to a Powys broadband project to help deliver fast and reliable broadband to communities which need it.
The Welsh Government’s Local Broadband Fund, which is worth £10 million, was set set up help to local authorities and social enterprises to address connectivity issues within their communities.
It has already helped a number of projects in the first phase and will now help even more in phase two.
Powys County Council’s Leader, Cllr Rosemarie Harris, said: “The news that we have been successful in this bid for funding is really positive and will make a massive difference to residents in six different communities across our vast rural county. We can now prove that while these properties are ‘hard to reach’, they are not ‘impossible to reach’ if the right support is available.
“I look forward to us engaging with and supporting more rural communities within Powys as we aim to deliver improved internet connectivity to as many residents and businesses as possible.”
Cllr Beverley Baynham, the portfolio holder for Corporate Governance and Regulatory services with includes responsibility for the council’s Digital Powys programme, added: “We are delighted to have also received funding towards our Community Broadband Team, a marketing campaign around digital connectivity and a technical consultancy that will help with innovative forms of connection.”
The project will connect 13 properties which are considered “hard to reach” in Powys with “incidental benefits” provided to an additional 139 properties across the county.
The connection will see fibre run from the exchange direct to the hard to reach properties. The fibre will be split along the route at junctions such as fibre nodes where it will then be run to the properties.
The Welsh Government’s Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters said: “Fast and reliable broadband is more important than ever. While this area is not devolved to Wales we are taking action through our Local Broadband Fund and various other schemes to bring better connectivity to some of the hardest to reach parts of Wales. Good quality digital connectivity underpins everything we do digitally and is the foundation to achieving our ambitious Digital strategy for Wales.
“The fund is already delivering a real difference to communities across Wales in its first phase and today I am delighted to announce further schemes that will benefit from this funding.
“Broadband is a key utility and we’ll continue to support all efforts to boost connections the length and breadth of Wales.”