A delegation of Denbigh dignitaries met up with Openreach engineers on Friday (09 July) to witness first-hand some of the innovative work that’s being carried out to upgrade the historic market town and wider community with the next generation of fibre broadband technology.

The party, which included Denbighshire Council Leader, Hugh Evans; Gareth Davies MS; Carolyn Thomas MS; Sam Rowlands MS and Dr James Davies MP saw how Openreach engineers are building a brand new ‘full fibre’ network directly from the Denbigh exchange to serve more than 4000 properties in the town and surrounding communities with more reliable, ultrafast internet connections.

The Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP or ‘full fibre’) infrastructure will future-proof Denbigh homes and  businesses for decades to come and bring with it access to some of the fastest broadband speeds in Europe.

With download speeds of 1 Gbps, it’s up to 10 times faster than the average home broadband connection which means faster game downloads, better quality video calls and higher resolution movie streaming.

During his tour of the new fibre network, Denbighshire County Council’s Leader, Councillor Hugh Evans OBE, said:

“Improving broadband infrastructure was identified as a priority by the Council prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and we are pleased to be working with Openreach to help achieve this.”

“During the pandemic, the internet has become even more important in terms of how we do our shopping, help our children with their school work, how it enables us to work from home and to help our local businesses to succeed, so having fast, reliable broadband is essential

“I’m delighted to see the work and investment that Openreach is putting into Denbigh and other areas. Denbigh has a rich past and we’re fortunate to have many historic buildings so it was reassuring to see how Openreach are taking this into consideration by sympathetically building its fibre network across the town.”

Openreach engineers are using innovative fibre technology for the narrow streets of the town near the castle area in order to minimise public disruption during the build and ensure that the work was completed on time.

The visit was hosted by Suzanne Rutherford, Openreach’s Chief Engineer’s Lead in Wales. Suzanne said:

 “At Openreach, we’ll never be just a city fibre builder.”

“We’re very proud to be able to say that nobody in Wales or the rest of the UK is building full fibre faster, further or at a higher quality than Openreach. We’re reaching more communities than ever and our team of highly-skilled local engineers, are working hard to deliver some of the fastest and most reliable broadband available anywhere in the world.

“We were delighted to be able to show what’s being done to build and connect Denbigh to our full fibre network and outline the benefits that full fibre offers.”

“People also need to remember that upgrades are not automatic, so I’d encourage residents of Denbigh and the wider community to see if they can take advantage of this new technology by visiting our fibre checker website.”

In addition to building an ultrafast full fibre broadband network in Denbigh itself Openreach recently updated its build plan across Wales and the rest of the UK which will be fundamental to the UK Government achieving its target of delivering ‘gigabit capable’ broadband to 85 per cent of UK by 2025.

The updated plans will see Openreach investing £12 billion to build its ultrafast full fibre technology to a total of 25 million premises across the UK, including more than six million in the hardest-to-serve parts of the country by the end of 2026.

Communities across North Wales that will benefit from Openreach’s full fibre build include:

• Conwy: Llanfairfechan, Abergele, Rhos On Sea, Llanrwst, Penmaenmawr , Old Colwyn, Deganwy, Tywyn, Colwyn Bay, Llandudno

• Denbighshire: Trefnant, Corwen, Llangollen, St Asaph, Ruthin, Dyserth, Rhuddlan, Rhyl, Kinmel Bay, Denbigh, Henllan, Gronant and Prestatyn
• Flintshire: Kinnerton, Pontybodkin, Northop, Hawarden, Mold, Connah’s Quay, Buckley, Caergwrle, Cefn-y-Bedd, Hope, Flint, Holywell, Carmel, Brynford, Gorsedd, Mostyn, Berthengam, Ffynongroyw, Pen-y-Ffordd
• Gwynedd: Trawsfynydd, Barmouth, Abersoch, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Felinheli,Nefyn, Bala, Bethesda, Dolgellau, Penygroes, Criccieth, Aberdovey, Porthmadog, Dyffryn, Llanberis, Tywyn Bangor, Penrhos, Garnedd, Caernarfon, Caeathro, Llanrug, Pwllheli
• Ynys Môn: Menai Bridge, Llangefni, Gaerwen, Brynsiencyn, Beaumaris, Moelfre, Tynygongl, Holyhead, Valley, Cemaes Bay, Rhosneigr, Amlwch

• Wrexham: Wrexham, North Rossett, Ruabon, Rhosllanerchrugog

This is in addition to both Openreach’s existing work in Wales, where more than 320,000 homes and businesses can already order ultrafast, ultra-reliable full fibre broadband and its partnership with Welsh Government to reach those that are in the final 5%.

Openreach plays an important role across Wales. More than 2,500 of our people live and work here. Recent research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) highlighted the clear economic benefits of connecting everyone in Wales to full fibre. It estimated this would create a £2 billion boost to the local economy.

This short video explains what Full Fibre technology is and you can find out more about our Fibre First programme, latest availability and local plans here.