Russell George AM (front, right) with Ann Beynon (front, left), BT Director Wales and Glyn Davies MP (middle, left) along with representatives of BT
The boss of BT in Wales has assured AM Russell George and MP Glyn Davies that fast broadband will be accessible to most people in Montgomeryshire.
Ann Beynon, BT Director Wales, met with Mr George and Mr Davies at a meeting in Newtown to discuss broadband provision in the area with representatives from community groups and local businesses.
She told the meeting that fibre was currently being laid in Newtown, Welshpool and Machynlleth and high-speed broadband of at least 24Mbs would be available after the summer.
Mrs Beynon said this would be rolled out to other exchanges and communities as part of the Superfast Cymru broadband investment by the Welsh Government and BT.
“We have been campaigning for good broadband for a number of years and the meeting with Mrs Beynon was arranged following a culmination of concern that we were being left in the slow lane when it came to communications,” said Mr George.
“She assured us that the majority of people in Montgomeryshire will be able to access fast broadband and work was ongoing to deliver this with the laying of fibre.
“However, we reiterated to her that we still need to examine other methods for delivering fast broadband to “not spots”, such as wireless which is already being delivered by a number of local Internet Service Providers.”
Mr Davies said he felt assured that the majority of people in Montgomeryshire would get reliable and fast broadband as a result of the investment being made by BT.
“But we must ensure everyone has access to broadband no matter where they live and we have reiterated this to Mrs Beynon. It won’t be acceptable for us to have “not spots” in Montgomeryshire and all avenues should be examined to bring in the relevant technology capable of delivering this,” said Mr Davies.
