Contact/Cyswllt: Sue Callery
01686 625527 / sue.callery@wales.gov.uk

Montgomeryshire Assembly Member Mick Bates has expressed deep concerns regarding access and availability of broadband for people living and working in rural Wales and in particular Montgomeryshire. He is calling on all constituents that cannot receive broadband or are let down by poor bandwidths to contact him so that he can get a measure of the problem and its effect upon the local economy with a view to using the information to further lobby the Plaid Labour Government for proper investment locally.

“I have corresponded with the Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones at length as I did with his predecessor Andrew Davies. However, none of their fine words have improved the situation for people living in Montgomeryshire. Just last week Ieuan Wyn Jones stated in a letter to me that his ‘Welsh Assembly Government recognises that widespread access to affordable, secure broadband is important to businesses and citizens across Wales’, but what good is recognition without action?”

“I am extremely concerned that people in Montgomeryshire are being let down by the Government since it appears not to recognise that rural solutions to broadband may be different to urban solutions. Furthermore, without swift action as a matter of urgency my constituency will be left behind the rest of Wales as the bandwidths increase elsewhere and we haven’t even reached the minimum 512kbs in many areas!”

“I want the Government to invest in future-proof technology in rural Wales – such as wireless. This would enable constituents to access excellent bandwidths, not just 2mbs, and place them on an even footing with other parts of the UK. Governments the world over have faced the broadband problem and rolled out viable solutions. I cannot believe that the Welsh Assembly Government can find so many difficulties when it has such a small land mass to cope with!”

It is disgraceful that at time when rural Wales is facing so many challenges to its economic stability that the Government continues to neglect the needs of rural businesses and the leisure industry in this way. A recent document published by the Mid Wales Partnership ‘Pushed to the Periphery?’ sets out critical strategic issues affecting Mid Wales and the possible steps that can be taken to address them. What a pity the Welsh Assembly Government still can’t get a grip!”

“It is impossible for our businesses to compete in the global or even UK market without the benefit of broadband. You can’t even update software with ease if you don’t have broadband, you certainly can’t upload web sites and it’s practically impossible to send large documents by e mail. We have time to catch up if the Plaid Labour Government takes swift action now and invests in the infrastructure necessary to deliver high bandwidth affordable data communications infrastructure to businesses and homes in Mid Wales.”

 

Facts:

Ofcom recognise a minimum line speed at 28kbs for internet.

WAG is committed to providing entry level first generation [512Kbps – 2 Mbps towards the customer and 256Kbps to 512Kbps away from the customer] broadband speeds to people in Wales through the Regional Innovative Broadband Support [RIBS] initiative. RIBS project was awarded under competitive tender to BT Group who upgraded the exchanges.

RIBS was designed to be technology neutral in its approach to finding solutions in delivering broadband. [AD 27/4/07 letter to Mick] BT will consider all technology types in the process of determining an appropriate response to each not spot on a case by case.

Mick’s research indicates that wireless technology saves significant amounts of money as there is no need to obtain planning permissions and liaise with Highways Agency to dig up roads and place cables to deliver to not spots. Wireless delivers to wide areas and one transmitter could deliver to a number of not spots and so not spots ought not be considered individually for these reasons.


End / Diwedd