Ceredigion County Council is committed to being one the best-connected rural counties in the UK, with the aim to improve all types of fixed and mobile connectivity in order to support business growth, the economy, residents’ quality of life, tourism, and the environment. Currently, there are several projects being carried out in order to achieve this through various schemes and funding options; one of these is Openreach’s bid to bring ultrafast, ultra-reliable full fibre broadband to local homes and businesses in Tregaron.
Openreach has identified Tregaron as being a strong contender for a Full Fibre network. However, a critical component for the project's success lies in the communities ability to demonstrate demand by pledging the free UK Government Gigabit Vouchers to Openreach’s project in order to meet the funding threshold required.
Using the vouchers – which do not cost residents anything, serves as a validation of community interest and is a prerequisite for unlocking UK Government funding that will enable Openreach to work with the local community to build a customised, co-funded network.
Councillor Clive Davies, Cabinet Member for Economy and Regeneration said: “Full fibre technology is not just about faster internet. It's about building a more reliable, resilient, and future-proof digital infrastructure for Tregaron. We are keen to see digital developments such as this one flourish. This will benefit not just individual households but also local businesses, schools, and healthcare services. With the hope that this project is successful in Tregaron, this will then pave the way for similar projects to extend across Ceredigion.”
Full fibre technology provides more reliable, resilient, and future-proof connectivity; meaning fewer faults; more predictable, consistent speeds and enough capacity to easily meet growing data demands. It's also future-proof, which means it will serve generations to come and won’t need to be upgraded for decades.
Martin Williams, Openreach’s Partnership Director for Wales, emphasises the importance of community involvement: "This is an exciting opportunity for the people of Tregaron to bring all the benefits of ultrafast, ultra-reliable full-fibre broadband to their community. But building out the network to these harder-to-reach locations is challenging, which is why it’s only possible with everyone working together."
Tregaron residents can pledge vouchers via the Connect my community (openreach.com) website: https://www.openreach.com/connectmycommunity
For more information on digital projects in Ceredigion, visit: https://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/business/ceredigital/
15/09/2023