Fay Jones MP recently joined up with some of the Openreach engineers that have been busy building a new Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband network across her Brecon and Radnorshire constituency.
She was given a tour of the work, which is making faster and more reliable ‘full fibre’ broadband available to homes and businesses in the local area. Nearly 40% of premises across Powys can already benefit from Openreach’s investment which when complete will total around £12.4 million* and bring some of the fastest and most reliable broadband speeds to the area.
The tour started with a quick visit to the telephone exchange in Builth Wells.
At the exchange the MP was able to see up close the art of fibre splicing – where two ends of fibre optic glass cable no wider than a human hair are fused together. This delicate piece of engineering plays a vital role in Openreach’s Full Fibre network that’s already connected more than 11m properties across the UK.
After the Builth Wells exchange it was a short journey through the town to see the ‘final stage’ of the Openreach Full Fibre network and to talk to local engineers that are delivering this game changing technology to communities across Powys.
With this investment, residents and businesses in Powys can expect improved connectivity, reduced latency, and the ability to utilize bandwidth-intensive applications and services. Ultrafast broadband can also attract new businesses, promote economic growth, and enhance digital inclusion by providing equal opportunities for education, employment, and innovation.
Fay Jones MP said:
“Good connectivity is essential for my constituents so it’s welcome to see the investment Openreach are making to our communities.
“It was great to see first-hand the technology that’s being used by Openreach and residents and businesses they will really benefit from this increase in broadband speed and improved reliability.
“Full fibre broadband is revolutionising the way we all live and work and it’s imperative that Brecon & Radnorshire is not left behind.
The visit was hosted by Martin Williams, Partnership Director for Wales, who said:
“We welcomed the opportunity to give Fay an overview of our ultrafast network.
“Our investment across Powys demonstrates Openreach’s commitment to improving digital infrastructure and bridging the digital divide.
“Our engineers work hard every day to keep communities across Powys and the rest of Wales connected, and it was great to be able to share the challenges and realities of delivering this technology.
“I would urge everyone in the local area to keep an eye on the build locally to see when full fibre is available to them. They can visit the Openreach fibre checker, which is regularly updated with our build progress and when full fibre is available in specific areas.”
Openreach is leading the full fibre charge in Wales to build an ultrafast network that is faster, better and more affordable than ever.
With download speeds of 1 Gbps, it’s up to 10 times faster than the average home broadband connection. That means faster game downloads, better quality video calls and higher resolution movie streaming.
You can also use multiple devices at once without experiencing slowdown – so more people in your household can get online at once. Even if the rest of your family are making video calls, streaming box sets or gaming online, all at the same time – you won’t experience stuttering, buffering or dropouts.
Full fibre is also less affected by peak time congestion – so you can enjoy your Saturday night blockbuster in 4K without the dreaded buffering screen.
About Openreach in Wales
Openreach is on track to reach 25 million UK homes and businesses with access to Full Fibre ultrafast broadband and has already reached more than 700,000 properties across Wales.
With a workforce of around 2,300 in Wales, Openreach already employs the nation’s largest team of telecoms engineers and professionals.
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 Welsh 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.
