Bates campaigns for better broadband

Montgomeryshire Lib Dem and founder of the Assembly’s Mid Wales Cross Party Action Group on Broadband, Mick Bates AM, continues to battle for better broadband across Mid Wales.

Mick recently ran a successful campaign in his local newspaper, the County Times, which encouraged local residents to write in and highlight the problems that they face in accessing broadband. Mick presented the fruit of his campaign to the Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones.  The coupons have now been sent on to the Welsh Assembly Government Department for the Economy and Transport to be added to the RIBS not-spot registration database.

Commenting Mick Bates AM: “I have been campaigning for a long time to raise awareness of the problem of access to broadband in rural areas. I am pleased that the current Minister for the Economy is finally taking the issue seriously.

“Broadband is a huge problem for people living and working in rural Wales and I am deeply concerned that for too long the Labour-Plaid Government has been failing the people of Montgomeryshire, who are still unable to access a broadband connection.

“Constituents have written to me with examples of the problems that they face in accessing broadband – in some cases bandwidths are reported to have dropped to 100kbs or less, some constituents are forced to travel a twenty mile round trip to access a connection, others complain of frequent loss of service while many of my constituents cannot even get a broadband connection at all.

“Broadband access can also have a huge impact on local businesses. Around 99% of all businesses in Wales are small and medium enterprises. In a modern competitive market, our local traders are struggling to survive without good access and availability to broadband. These businesses need a reliable broadband infrastructure if they are to survive, prosper and compete in local, national and global markets.

“Welsh Liberal Democrats demand that the Labour-Plaid Government backs up warm words with strong action to support the delivery broadband to these small and medium businesses, which offer a unique chance to develop local communities and offer a sustainable and local approach to economic development.

In January 2008 Mick founded the Mid Wales Cross Party Action Group on BroadBand. This action group has since met with representatives from BT and OFCOM as well as the Minister for the Economy and the First Minister for Wales, to discuss the problems experienced under the current RIBS scheme and how these can be resolved under the next contract, so that broadband can be delivered to the remaining blackspots across Wales.

Commenting Mick adds: “There is still much work to be done to solve the remaining broadband blackspots. It is vital that the Labour-Plaid coalition takes swift action now and develops a new informed contract under RIBS. This contract must offer more than the 50% funding offered under the current contract, to be commercially viable for any service provider.