BT, along with Openreach, has secured a £9.8 million contract to extend broadband coverage across Southwest Wales, aligning with the Swansea Bay City Deal’s Better Broadband Infill Project. This plan promises to bridge the digital gap, bringing high-speed internet to over 1,700 sites, including remote areas currently excluded from high-speed coverage.
The objective is to enhance regions with broadband speeds below 30Mbps, which aren’t covered by other commercial or government initiatives like Project Gigabit. This investment will benefit 1,533 residential and business locations, plus 256 public and community establishments in Pembrokeshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, and Carmarthenshire. These areas, often bypassed by broadband deployments due to economic factors, will finally gain access to reliable internet.
The infrastructure rollout is scheduled to commence this month, with the inaugural connections expected by December 2025. The development will occur in six phases, aiming for completion by March 2027. Cllr. Rob Stewart, leader of Swansea Council, underlined the project’s transformative impact, stating, “This project is a game changer for our region. By bringing high-speed internet to areas that have been left behind, we are not only improving quality of life but also opening up new opportunities for economic and social development.”
Susi Marston from BT echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the enhancement of connectivity in even the most difficult locations. This regional project is part of a larger mission within Openreach’s national Project Gigabit, aiming to connect 290,000 hard-to-reach locations across the UK. Recent efforts have introduced full fibre services to some of the UK’s most isolated communities.
Additionally, last August saw the Swansea Bay City Deal award a dark fibre contract to VMO2 Business, promoting new infrastructure across public sector sites in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot. Expected to be fully operational by December, this network aims to equip these sites with state-of-the-art communication capabilities.
