GUEST COLUMN:
Isabelle Bignall
Chief Digital Officer
Cardiff Council
When we set out our digital strategy for Cardiff, we put connectivity at its core. It wasn’t an afterthought or an optional extra. It was a deliberate priority and, for many of us involved, a genuine labour of love.
Connectivity has become an essential utility, as fundamental as water or electricity, and our residents and businesses need reliable, high-speed access if they are to work, learn and grow in the way modern life demands.
The city’s hypercity network sits at the heart of that ambition. Delivered through a £7.7 million partnership with the Welsh Government’s Local Broadband Fund, and implemented with Elevate, it is a dedicated full-fibre system designed to reach parts of Cardiff that had been overlooked for years. Around 170 kilometres of new fibre now run across major parts of the city, providing modern, ten-gigabit capable connectivity that replaces the patchwork of older, inconsistent infrastructure that previously held many areas back.
One of the strengths of this partnership has been the ability to target the areas that needed help most. We knew from our own mapping that parts of Cardiff had suffered persistent digital deprivation, often because they were simply harder to reach. Other providers had skipped entire streets or clusters of businesses because it required difficult and costly work. That wasn’t acceptable to us. If connectivity is an essential utility, then it has to be treated as one.
The impact of that targeted approach is already visible. Five thousand more businesses are now online, and 4,000 residents who previously lacked adequate access are now connected. That is a significant shift for communities, for participation, and for the local economy. And while the progress has been encouraging, we are not finished.
Our long-term goal is clear: by 2030, we want 99 per cent of Cardiff to have access to gigabit speeds. We are currently at 88 percent, well ahead of where we expected to be at this point. That level of coverage strengthens the city’s ability to support digital growth, but it also ensures that no community is left behind as services, skills and work increasingly depend on strong connectivity.
Affordability is a crucial part of this. An open-access network is essential if we are to reduce the digital deprivation gap. Competition keeps tariffs fair and stops residents or SMEs from being locked into a single provider with limited choices. When we drew up our specification for the Local Broadband Fund, we mapped the whole city, identified where investment was most needed and built in community benefits from the outset. It was important that the network served every part of the city – not just commercially attractive areas.
The benefits reach beyond business performance or inward investment. Community centres now have gigabit access, giving young people, families and job-seekers the digital space they need to build skills, explore opportunities and imagine new futures. Strong connectivity supports the cohesion of a city as much as the economy of one.
What matters now is maintaining momentum. Cardiff’s progress shows what can be achieved when connectivity is treated as a core public priority. If we stay on course, the city will not only meet its target for gigabit coverage but will do so in a way that is inclusive, accessible and focused on long-term value.
Isabelle Bignall talks about this and more in the Cardiff Business podcast episode Inside Cardiff’s Hypercity Vision. Listen here.
