Merthyr Tydfil Enjoys Access to Some of the Fastest Broadband Speeds in Europe

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Technology News Wales , 28th August 2020

Merthyr Tydfil homes and businesses get connected to next generation fibre network bringing access to some of the fastest broadband speeds in Europe.

An Openreach pledge back in January to make ultrafast, ultra-reliable and future-proof broadband available to a number of market towns and rural locations across Wales is starting to become a reality in Merthyr Tydfil.

More than 1200 Merthyr homes and businesses can now access ‘full fibre’ broadband speeds of up to one gigabit per second (1000Mbps) – that’s among the fastest speeds in Europe and more than 15 times faster than today’s UK average broadband speed.

As designated key workers, Openreach engineers have been hard at work throughout the Covid-19 lockdown, building the new digital network of the future that uses the latest Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband technology – where fibre optic cables are laid all the way from the exchange to people’s front doors.

The new technology is already ‘live’ in parts of Merthyr Tydfil and people living in streets such as Heol-y-Bryniau, Farm Terrace, Coronation Terrace and Heol Nangau can now place an order. To find out if your property can place an order for full fibre visit www.openreach.co.uk/fibrecheckerpr.

More and more properties across Merthyr are set to benefit from this next generation network over the coming weeks and months as Openreach engineers connect around 300 properties a week.

Connie Dixon, Openreach’s Partnership Director for Wales, said:

‘We’re making great progress here in both Merthyr Tydfil and the rest of Wales. Despite the obvious challenges our full fibre build has continued. As well as keeping people connected using our existing network, our engineers have continued building the new infrastructure to make sure that as lockdown restrictions ease, we can support families, businesses and the economic recovery.

I’d encourage everyone who can to upgrade to the new technology and take advantage of the many benefits. Full fibre is more reliable and more resilient, meaning fewer faults and more predictable, consistent speeds. It’s also ‘future-proof’ as we expect it to easily meet the growing data demands of future technologies for decades to come.'

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council Digital Champion Cllr David Hughes said:

‘It’s fantastic news that our residents and businesses now have access to some of the fastest broadband speeds not only in Wales, but in Europe.

It’s particularly good for our booming local economy which is constantly welcoming new companies that want to set up here because of our great location, wide range of business premises, workforce and support on offer from the Council’s economic development team and partners.

We’d like to thank Openreach for deciding to use Merthyr Tydfil to install this technology and for continuing to work right through lockdown to make it happen.'

The original pledge in January was boosted in July with a further announcement by Openreach to bring full fibre to 3.2 million more premises across the UK, including the following locations in South Wales: Abercynon, Ferndale, Mountain Ash, Llantwit Fardre, Llantrisant, Caerphilly, Cross Keys, Rhymney, Brynmawr and Cwm. (see here for full announcement of locations across Wales).

Recent research suggests the new network could bring clear economic benefits as Merthyr and the rest of Wales looks to bounce back from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A report by the Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr) found that connecting everyone in Wales ‘full fibre’ broadband would create nearly a £2 billion boost to the Welsh economy, by unlocking smarter ways of working, better public services and greater opportunities for the next-generation of home-grown businesses.

The report also revealed that 25,000 people across Wales could be brought back into the workforce through enhanced connectivity – including in small businesses and through entrepreneurship.

Openreach has recently expanded its UK national plans and will now make FTTP technology available to 4.5 million homes and businesses across the UK by the end of March 2021 – an increase of 500,000 premises. By the mid-to-late 2020s the company wants to reach 20 million premises – almost two thirds of the UK – assuming the right conditions are in place to support investment.

Ten fantastic full fibre facts:

Connecting everyone in Wales to ‘full fibre’ broadband by 2025 would create a £2 billion boost to the Welsh economy.
Fibre optics are strands of glass around one tenth the thickness of a human hair. They transmit data using light signals.
A single strand of fibre can provide enough capacity to serve up to 32 individual properties with Gigabit speeds.
Pure fibre optic broadband can run at speeds of 1 gigabit per second (1000Mbps) – that’s more than 15 times faster than today’s UK average broadband speed. You can download a two-hour HD film in less time than it takes to make a cup of tea. And video gamers could download a 5-gigabyte virtual reality (VR) game in 1.7 minutes, instead of waiting half an hour.
More people getting online at the same time is easier too – a family of four can all stream ultra HD or 4k quality video simultaneously, without waiting or buffering.
Full fibre is more reliable than traditional copper connections. A full fibre broadband signal isn’t affected by external interference whereas copper can be impacted by outside electrical signals – including electric fences and even bad weather! One recent report stated ‘that ‘full fibre’ is 70%-80% more reliable than copper resulting in lower fault rates.’
A fibre optic cable can send a signal over 120 miles without any real loss of quality. Traditional copper cables can lose signal at around one mile.
Full fibre is better for the environment – the amount of electricity used to power fibre is significantly less than needed for copper cables. Better connectivity also enables more people to work from home – which cuts down on commuting. Research suggests fibering up the whole of the UK could save 300 million commuting trips – reducing carbon emissions by 360,000 tonnes.
Full fibre can boost business productivity. It enables cheaper broadband powered phone services, and better access to cloud-based computing services. For example, full fibre connectivity combined with cloud computing means businesses can upload, store, access and download vast amounts of data in minutes instead of hours. Data is backed up and securely archived off-site so not relying on costly, ageing servers taking up expensive office space.
Full fibre broadband will be crucial in supporting plans to give NHS patients access to ‘virtual clinics’ where patients who don’t physically need to come hospital can get a video consultation with their doctor. It can also allow hospitals to share HD quality graphics of medical scans in seconds to improve diagnosis speeds. For example, medical staff can download a 2 gigabyte CT scan in 40 seconds, instead of 14 minutes.

Cysylltu cartrefi a busnesau cyntaf â’r rhwydwaith ffeibr oes nesaf gan ddarparu rhai o’r gwasanaethau band eang cyflymaf yn Ewrop.

Mae addewid Openreach i sicrhau bod band eang ffeibr oes nesaf, tra-chyflym, tra-dibynadwy ar gael i nifer o leoliadau gwledig ledled Cymru yn dechrau dod yn realiti ym Merthyr Tudful.

Erbyn hyn mae tua 1200 cartref a busnes yn y dref farchnad yn gallu cael band eang ‘ffeibr cyflawn’ ar gyflymder hyd at un gigabeit yr eiliad (1000Mbps) - sef ymhlith y cyflymaf yn Ewrop a dros 15 gwaith yn gyflymach na gwasanaeth band eang cyfartalog y Deyrnas Unedig.

Fel gweithwyr allweddol dynodedig, roedd peirianwyr Openreach yn brysur drwy gydol cyfnod clo Covid-19, yn adeiladu rhwydwaith digidol newydd gyda thechnoleg band eang FTTP (ffeibr i’r adeilad) sy’n rhedeg ceblau ffeibr optig o’r gyfnewidfa i ddrysau cartrefi cwsmeriaid.

Mae’r dechnoleg newydd eisoes yn ‘fyw’ mewn rhannau o’r dref ac fe all pobl sydd yn byw ar strydoedd fel Heol-y-Bryniau, Farm Terrace, Coronation Terrace ac Heol Nangau archebu’r gwasanaeth heddiw. Gallwch wirio os yw eich cartref neu busnes yn gallu gosod archeb trwy ymweld âg www.openreach.co.uk/fibrecheckerpr.

Bydd mwy o gartrefi a busnesau ar draws y sir yn elwa o’r rhwydwaith newydd dros yr wythnosau a misoedd nesaf wrth i beirianwyr Openreach gysylltu tua 300 adeilad yr wythnos.

Dywedodd Connie Dixon, cyfarwyddwraig partneriaethau Cymru Openreach:

'Rydym yn gweithio’n galed ym Merthyr, gyda’r gwaith i ymestyn y rhwydwaith ffeibr cyflawn yn parhau er yr heriau dros y cyfnod diweddar. Yn ogystal â chynnal cysylltiadau cwsmeriaid â’n rhwydwaith cyfredol, mae ein peirianwyr wedi parhau i adeiladu’r seilwaith newydd er mwyn sicrhau byddwn yn gallu cefnogi teuluoedd, busnesau a’r adfywiad economaidd pan fydd y llywodraeth yn rhyddhau’r cyfyngiadau.

Rwy’n argymell pawb sy’n gallu gwneud hynny i uwchraddio i’r dechnoleg newydd a bachu ar y cyfleoedd. Mae ffeibr cyflawn yn fwy cyflym a dibynadwy, sy’n golygu llai o namau a gwasanaethau cyflym a chyson. Bydd hefyd yn barod ar gyfer y dyfodol wrth ddiwallu gofynion data am ddegawdau i ddod.”

Dywedodd y Cyng David Hughes, Pencampwr digidol Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Merthyr Tudful:

'Mae'n newyddion gwych bod gan ein trigolion a'n busnesau fynediad at rai o'r cyflymderau band eang cyflymaf, nid yn unig yng Nghymru, ond yn Ewrop.

Mae'n arbennig o dda ar gyfer ein heconomi leol ffyniannus sy'n croesawu'n gyson gwmnïau newydd sydd am sefydlu yma oherwydd ein lleoliad gwych, ystod eang o adeiladau busnes, gweithlu a chefnogaeth sydd ar gael gan dîm datblygu economaidd y cyngor a phartneriaid.

Hoffem ddiolch i Openreach am benderfynu defnyddio Merthyr Tudful i osod y dechnoleg hon ac am barhau i weithio drwy cloi i sicrhau ei fod yn digwydd.'

Ym mis Gorffennaf rhoddwyd hwb i'r addewid gwreiddiol ym mis Ionawr gyda chyhoeddiad pellach gan Openreach i ddod â ffeibr llawn i 3.2m chartref a busnes ychwanegol ledled y DU, gan gynnwys y lleoliadau canlynol yn ne Cymru: Abercynon, Glynrhedynog, Aberpennar, Llanilltud Faerdref, Llantrisant, Caerffili, Cross Keys, Rhymni, Brynmawr a Chwm. (gweler yma am gyhoeddiad llawn am leoliadau ledled Cymru).

Yn ôl ymchwil diweddar, gallai’r rhwydwaith newydd ddod â buddion economaidd clir wrth i’r sir a gweddill y wlad edrych i adfywio ar ôl effeithiau pandemig Covid-19.

Datgelodd adroddiad gan Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr) y gallai cysylltu pawb yng Nghymru â band eang ‘ffeibr cyflawn’ roi hwb gwerth bron £2 biliwn i economi Cymru, gan greu dulliau gweithredu newydd, gwella gwasanaethau cyhoeddus a chreu cyfleoedd ar gyfer y genhedlaeth nesaf o fusnesau.

Yn ogystal, datgelodd yr adroddiad y gellid croesawu 25,000 o bobl ar draws y wlad yn ôl i’r gweithlu wrth wella cysylltiadau cyfathrebu - yn cynnwys busnesau bach ac wrth symbylu entrepreneuriaeth.

Yn ddiweddar, datblygodd Openreach ei gynlluniau ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig wrth ymrwymo i ddarparu technoleg FTTP ar gyfer 4.5 miliwn cartref a busnes ar draws y wlad erbyn diwedd Mawrth 2021 - cynnydd o 500,000 adeilad. Erbyn diwedd y 2020au mae’r cwmni am gyrraedd 20 miliwn adeilad - sef 66% o’r Deyrnas Unedig - o gael yr amgylchiadau iawn i gefnogi buddsoddiad.

Deg ffaith ffeibr cyflawn:

Gallai cysylltu pawb yng Nghymru â band eang ‘ffeibr cyflawn’ erbyn 2025 roi hwb gwerth £2 biliwn i economi Cymru.
Ceblau ffeibr optig yn cynnwys llinynnau gwydr tenau iawn (10% trwch gwallt pobl) sy’n trosglwyddo data wrth ddefnyddio signalau golau.
Un llinyn ffeibr yn gallu gwasanaethu hyd at 32 cartref gyda band eang gigabeit.
Band eang ffeibr optig pur yn gallu trosglwyddo data ar gyflymder o 1 gigabeit yr eiliad (1000Mbps) - sef 15 gwaith yn gyflymach na band eang cyfartalog y DU heddiw. Mae’n gallu llwytho ffilm dwy awr HD tra byddwch yn gwneud paned o de. A llwytho gêm realiti rhithwir 5 gigabeit mewn 1.7 munud, yn lle hanner awr.
Bydd hefyd yn galluogi mwy o bobl i fynd arlein ar yr un pryd - gyda theulu o bedwar yn ffrydio fideo ultra HD neu 4k heb unrhyw oedi.
Ffeibr cyflawn yn fwy dibynadwy na chysylltiadau copr traddodiadol. Ni fydd signal band eang ffeibr cyflawn yn destun ymyrraeth allanol ond mae signalau electronig allanol yn gallu effeithio cysylltiadau copr - yn cynnwys ffensys trydan a thywydd gwael! Yn ôl un adroddiad diweddar, mae ‘ffeibr cyflawn’ 70 - 80% yn fwy dibynadwy na chopr, sy’n achosi llai o namau.’
Cebl ffeibr optig yn gallu anfon signal dros 120 milltir heb golli ansawdd. Ceblau copr traddodiadol yn gallu colli signal ar ôl oddeutu 1 milltir.
Ffeibr cyflawn yn well i’r amgylchedd - gan ddefnyddio llai o drydan na cheblau copr. Bydd cysylltiadau gwell hefyd yn hwyluso gweithio gartref - gyda llai o bobl yn teithio i waith. Ymchwil yn awgrymu gallai gwasanaethu’r DU gyfan arbed miliwn o deithiau cymudo - gan ostwng allyriadau carbon oddeutu 360,000 tunnell.
Ffeibr cyflawn yn gallu hybu cynhyrchiant busnes, wrth ddarparu gwasanaethau ffôn rhatach dros fand eang a gwella mynediad i wasanaethau cwmwl. Er enghraifft, cysylltedd ffeibr cyflawn ar y cyd â gwasanaethau cwmwl yn golygu bod busnesau’n gallu anfon, storio a llwytho pecynnau data enfawr mewn munudau yn hytrach nag oriau. Cedwir copïau data oddi ar safleoedd, felly nid oes angen cynnal gweinyddion mawr mewn swyddfeydd costus.
Ffeibr cyflawn yn hanfodol er cefnogi cynlluniau i gysylltu cleifion y gwasanaeth iechyd â chlinigau rhithwir, gan drefnu cyfarfodydd fideo â meddygon pan na fydd angen iddynt ymweld ag ysbytai. Gallai hefyd alluogi ysbytai i rannu sganiau meddygol HD mewn eiliadau er mwyn hwyluso diagnosis. Er enghraifft, staff yn gallu llwytho sgan CT 2 gigabeit mewn 40 eiliad, yn hytrach na 14 munud.