Montgomeryshire AM Mick Bates has described the Broadband Support Scheme for rural Wales as a ‘long overdue but very welcome step forward’ for delivering broadband to ‘notspots’ in Wales. The scheme is scheduled to be launched this summer, with £2million in the pot to start and more funding anticipated from the EU through the Rural Development Plan for Wales.
Commenting Mr Bates said:
“The new Broadband Support Scheme for rural Wales is a long overdue but very welcome step forward towards providing broadband to the rural areas of Wales that have been left behind by the digital revolution. For too long rural Wales has been underserved with a poor broadband infrastructure that has see many individuals and businesses suffer from a second class service, unable to access a reliable internet connection or even an internet connection at all and it is high time for change.
“The Broadband Support Scheme will offer a grant of up to £1,000 to individuals who live in ‘notspots’ to reach up to 512Kbps using innovative solutions to bring broadband to their home. Of course, the devil will be in the detail and I hope full information on the scheme will be released soon, so that both customers and providers know where they stand and exactly what the scheme will entail.”
Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Candidate Wyn Williams adds:
“The Welsh Assembly Government reckons that there are around 1,800 individuals who have reported a lack of basic broadband in their area, but in reality this figure will be much, much higher as many people may not have taken action to report their ‘notspot’. The Welsh Government ‘Regional Innovative Broadband Support’ project has so far focused mainly on Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, with Powys left behind in the dark.
“I hope the new broadband support scheme will enable the many areas of Powys with little or no internet connection to identify fit for purpose solutions, to help bridge the digital divide and roll out super fast broadband to even the most hard to reach areas, so that individuals and businesses in rural Wales can take full advantage of the benefits that internet can offer.”
