Residents of a Powys village are being urged by their county councillor to embrace the opportunity for superfast broadband in the area.
Plaid Cymru County Councillor for Llanbrynmair, Gary Mitchell, has called on members of the community to seize a new opportunity to secure ultrafast broadband for their village, having been selected as one of three communities in North Powys eligible for a new full fibre broadband rollout scheme.
Openreach, who are leading the project, have stated that in order for the community to benefit, approximately 30 percent of households will have to apply for UK Government Gigabit Vouchers.
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Cllr Gary Mitchell said: “I would urge all residents and business owners in the Llanbrynmair area to check their eligibility on Openreach’s website, and for all eligible businesses and households to apply for a Gigabit voucher.
“For too many in parts of Wales, digital connectivity remains an issue. Plaid Cymru has been leading the way, in both the Senedd and Westminster, to ensure that our communities are not left behind in terms of access to superfast broadband.
“We know that access to a fast and reliable internet connection has never been more vital. We also know that opportunities to secure this don’t come around that often in rural Powys, and I urge people in Llanbrynmair to seize it with both hands, and to contact to me if they struggle to register their support.”
The vouchers residents need to apply for will not come at any cost, but they will have to commit to ordering a full fibre service from a provider of their choice for at least 12 months once the new network is available.
Cefin Campbell, Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd for Mid and West Wales added: “We know how absolutely essential a fast, reliable broadband connection is, and unfortunately for too much of rural Wales this remains the exception rather than the norm. In this context, this new Openreach scheme really is an excellent opportunity.
“I and my Plaid Cymru colleagues in both the Senedd and Westminster will continue to offer robust scrutiny of the Welsh and UK Government’s efforts to improve digital connectivity for our rural communities and will continue to urge the speedy completion of full fibre rollout.”
Residents and businesses can check their eligibility for the scheme by entering their postcode on Openreach's Connect My Community website, which can be found here; at https://www.openreach.com/connectmycommunity while more information on the vouchers scheme can be found here; https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/
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