Residents in villages near Brecon have been left without broadband after provider Voneus decided to decommission part of its rural network rather than carry out repairs.

The outage has affected at least two households, including Chris Davies from Cwmachau Farm in Lower Chapel, who said he had received no warning and that monthly payments were still being taken despite the loss of service.

“We have a holiday enterprise on the farm and emails and spreadsheets are essential 100 per cent of the time. Wi-Fi is also needed for the holiday accommodation,” he explained.

“The last six months have proved disastrous with Voneus, with a slowing down of the service, outages one after the other, and guarantees to repair which never took place.”

Mr Davies said the broadband then “disappeared altogether” in October.

“I sent email after email about the situation, until they eventually told me they were assessing the validity of repairs,” he said.

“Then two weeks ago we were notified our connection was finally ending and we were no longer customers of Voneus.”

“They however have managed to take the monthly payment for October and November,” said Chris.

“As of today they have not had the decency to tell us when our money will be given back.”

Cllr Iain McIntosh, who helped set up the original network in 2018, has been pressing Voneus for answers. Emails seen by this newspaper show that Voneus said the outage was caused by a damaged power cable after an Army vehicle travelled down an unauthorised road. After a physical survey, the company said the cost and complexity of restoring the service were too high, and it would be “de-commissioned”.

A spokesperson for Voneus told the B&R: “As a business we always striving to keep customers connected.  Third-party damage caused a broadband outage for two customers. After confirming all alternative solutions were not viable, Voneus made a decision to de-commission. Customer communications were sent to all impacted residents from the outset.”

Cllr McIntosh said leaving rural residents without connectivity was “completely unacceptable”.

“It is completely unacceptable for a broadband provider to simply switch people off rather than repair and maintain the service they pay for. Rural communities already face enough barriers to digital connectivity without being abandoned when faults occur,” he said”

He continued: “When I helped to establish the original service back in 2018 it transformed life for many households, especially during the pandemic when reliable internet became essential. Since Voneus took over, residents have faced repeated outages, slow fixes, and a steady decline in reliability. Now we are seeing the company walk away from customers altogether.

“People in my ward deserve better than this. They rely on their broadband for work, education, healthcare, and staying connected with their families.”

With Openreach not due to roll out fibre locally until at least 2030, he said he is now working with Broadband for Wales on a full-fibre upgrade offering “faster, far more reliable speeds at similar monthly cost”.

“Rural Powys should not be left behind. I will continue to fight for a stable, high quality broadband service for everyone in the Yscir area, and I am pleased that a realistic and credible alternative is now being put in place,” said Cllr McIntosh.

He said residents who want more information can attend one of the upcoming meetings or get in touch with him directly - [email protected]

Public meetings will be held to explain the proposed fibre rollout and answer residents’ questions:

• Monday, December 1, 7pm - Llanfihangel Nant Bran Community Hall


• Tuesday, December 2, 7pm - Lower Chapel Village Hall


• Tuesday, December 9, 7pm - Upper Chapel Village Hall