Superfast Cymru broadband making waves in Clwyd South, says AM Ken Skates

A pioneering Welsh Government scheme aimed at making Wales the best-connected country in the world is paying dividends in Clwyd South, according to Assembly Member Ken Skates.

The Labour AM said the £425m Superfast Cymru programme is on track to meet its target of having 96% of homes and businesses accessing top broadband speeds by summer 2016.

The Welsh Government has installed three superfast cabinets in Corwen and another in Rhostyllen since December, and Ruabon, Rhosllanerchrugog and Bangor-on-Dee will join the network next month. Llangollen, where Mr Skates is based, will be linked up in December.

He said: “Superfast Cymru is the biggest partnership of its kind anywhere in the UK and is being led by the Welsh Labour Government and BT, bringing high-speed broadband to almost every property in Wales.

“It is particularly pleasing to see our pioneering project paying dividends in my own constituency and across North Wales, where we are investing record sums, with many areas already connected or due to join the superfast network over the coming months.

“Superfast Cymru is well on target and has so far connected more than 150,000 properties to superfast-enabled cabinets. By the summer of 2016 Wales will be better connected than almost every other country on the planet.”

Mr Skates said the scheme is well ahead of its counterparts elsewhere in Britain.

He added: “Roll-out in England and Scotland has barely begun – and neither will reach anywhere near as high a proportion of properties as Superfast Cymru is delivering in Wales. We also have faster speeds – much, much faster. So far, the average test speed for Superfast Cymru connections is three times higher than the UK average.

“Few other nations have adopted such an ambitious infrastructure plan and we are on target to deliver it with the help of European money.

“This is a massive logistical undertaking, involving 17,500kms of optic fibre being laid. That’s enough to stretch from my constituency office in Llangollen to Sydney, Australia, and still have enough to go from Coedpoeth to Cardiff.

“However, by this time next year we will have trebled the number of premises in North Wales which have access to superfast broadband. Soon Wales will be in the superfast lane, while great swathes of England bumble along far behind.”