Openreach is asking people living in Beaumaris to get behind a push for faster broadband.

Ultrafast, ultra-reliable full fibre broadband is within touching distance for people living in Beaumaris – thanks to Openreach’s Community Fibre Partnership scheme.

The company – the UK’s largest broadband network used by customers of BT, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Zen – is urging people living or working in Beaumaris to consider pooling Gigabit broadband vouchers available from the UK and Welsh Governments to help build a new, gigabit-capable network, where fibre is run directly from the exchange all the way to each property.

Many residents have already pledged their support, but those who haven’t and don’t have access to a 100Mbps broadband service can check if they qualify and pledge their voucher on the Connect My Community website.

If enough people come forward and utilise the vouchers – which closes at end of March – Openreach can work with the community to build a customised, co-funded network and bring full fibre broadband to areas not included in any existing private or publicly subsidised upgrade schemes.

By working with Openreach in this way, more than 150,000 homes and businesses across the UK can already benefit from ultrafast, ultra-reliable broadband.

Connie Dixon, Openreach’s partnership director for Wales, said:

“This is a really exciting opportunity for the community of Beaumaris to bring full fibre infrastructure to the town but the clock is ticking.”

“Deadline for vouchers to be pledged is end of March so we need as many people as possible in Beaumaris to get involved so that we get enough pledges ‘over the line’. Everyone who pledges a voucher will be doing their bit to help make Beaumaris one of the best-connected places in North Wales. Pledging couldn’t be simpler, but we need residents to act quickly.”

Connie added:

“Thousands of homes and businesses across Wales can already upgrade to the Openreach full fibre network and local people can use our online postcode checker to see what’s now available.

“We’re investing £12 billion to build full fibre broadband to 20 million homes – and more than three million of those will be in the toughest third of the UK – but we can’t upgrade the whole country alone. This latest support from government, alongside help to remove red tape and barriers that slow down the build, is vital.”

To claim vouchers which contribute towards the cost of building the new network, residents are asked 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.

Eligible residents can qualify for up to a maximum of £3,000 while small to medium sized businesses can claim up to £7,000 under the UK Government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme which has been topped up by Welsh Government funding.

Welcoming the initiative, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, said:

“Covid home working has made it clearer than ever how important it is to provide fast broadband for all, and here’s one way of trying to improve services in Beaumaris.”

“I’d encourage the community to see how working together and pooling resources could bring real benefits, and I’ll be talking to local councillors to see how this could be taken forward.”

Virginia Crosbie MP said:

“The value of good broadband access on Anglesey has become particularly apparent in the past 12 months.   Beaumaris has a sufficiently large population to really take advantage of this scheme and I would encourage everyone in the town to get involved.”

Full fibre technology provides more reliable, resilient and future-proof connectivity; meaning fewer faults; more predictable, consistent speeds and enough capacity to easily meet growing data demands. It's also future-proof, which means it will serve generations to come and won’t need to be upgraded for decades.

Fibre optics – strands of glass around one-tenth the thickness of a human hair – transmit data using light signals. Fibre is smaller, lighter and more durable than copper cabling and less vulnerable to damage. This short video explains what full fibre technology is.