Montgomeryshire AM Russell George says he's mystified about why a decision by the Welsh Government to award a broadband contract has taken nearly a year.

Last week, the Government announced it had awarded a contract for phase two of the Superfast Cymru scheme which aims to connect 10,000 properties in Powys and East Wales to fibre optic broadband to BT Openreach, eleven months after the completion of the 'phase one' delivery stage of the scheme.

And while Mr George welcomed the announcement, he questioned why it had taken until now to make the decision.

"It is welcome news that the contract for phase 2 of the Welsh Government's Superfast Cymru programme has finally been announced but it's beyond me why it's taken the best part of a year for them to award this contract to Openreach," he said.

"There should have been a seamless transition between phase one and two of the scheme but almost a year has gone by which has added to the frustration of people who remain without any broadband at all, not alone high speed broadband.

"It is right to say that Superfast Cymru has delivered fibre broadband to those who would have never received it without public intervention. Indeed, it's fantastic news that 27% of premises in rural Montgomeryshire can receive "fibre to the premises" which delivers ultra-fast broadband speeds directly to people's homes and businesses.

"However, the digital divide between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' has widened and since February 2018, the rollout of fibre broadband to the significant minority of premises which remain left in the lurch has totally ground to a halt as we have eagerly awaited the award and implementation of phase 2."

The government says the "Lot 2" contract, which covers areas in Powys, Flintshire, Monmouthshire and the Vale of Glamorgan, will be underpinned by over £9.2m of public funding and will be completed by March 2021.

Contracts for other parts of Wales were awarded in October 2018, after the end of the first phase of the programme was completed in February 2018.

"We are still yet to know what 'unforeseen complexities' have contributed to the delay in commissioning this contract and questions still remain, including exactly how many premises are going to be provided with fibre broadband, what type of connections will be used for the rollout, what timescale will they be working to and how many premises will remain stranded and without high speed broadband after phase 2 concludes," added Mr George.

"Broadband is now considered the fourth utility, is an essential part of modern life and is no longer a nice to have luxury. It is also essential for a thriving Mid Wales economy so from my perspective, I will keep asking probing questions of the Welsh Government and Openreach until such time as all people in Montgomeryshire are able to benefit from the same high speed broadband which is enjoyed and taken for granted by people in more urban areas of Wales."