Breaking the Mold: full fibre broadband set to bring ultrafast boost to town
Sam Rowlands MS visits ultrafast broadband upgrade in Mold (Fersiwn Cymraeg isod / Welsh language version below)
Sam Rowlands MS recently joined up with some of the Openreach engineers that have been busy building a new ultrafast full fibre broadband network across North Wales.
He was given a tour of the work, which is making faster and more reliable ‘full fibre’ broadband available to homes and businesses in the local area. Around 76% of premises across Flintshire can already benefit from Openreach’s investment which when complete will total around £17 million* and bring some of the fastest and most reliable broadband speeds to the area.
The tour started with a quick visit to the telephone exchange in Mold where the full fibre network journey that connects properties in the area, begins.
At the exchange the MS for North Wales was able to see up close the art of fibre splicing – where two ends of fibre optic glass cable no wider than a human hair are fused together. This delicate piece of engineering plays a vital role in Openreach’s Full Fibre network that’s already connected nearly 12m properties across the UK.
After the Mold exchange it was a short journey through the town to see the ‘final stage’ of the Openreach full fibre network and opportunity to talk to local engineers that are delivering this game changing technology to communities across North Wales.
With this investment, residents and businesses in Mold and beyond can expect improved connectivity, reduced latency, and the ability to utilize bandwidth-intensive applications and services. Ultrafast broadband can also attract new businesses, promote economic growth, and enhance digital inclusion by providing equal opportunities for education, employment, and innovation.
Sam Rowlands MS said: “I’m pleased to see the progress being made by Openreach to deliver full fibre across Mold and the rest of North Wales.
“It’s a significant investment by Openreach which is great news for local people living and working in the area.
”Full fibre is without doubt the future of connectivity and the fact that Openreach is investing heavily in the area is to be welcomed.
“I look forward to even more progress being made so that all of my constituents can have the best access to digital services for employment, education and entertainment, as soon as possible.”
The visit was hosted by Martin Williams, Partnership Director for Wales, who said: “We welcomed the opportunity to give Sam an overview of our ultrafast network. Our investment in Flintshire demonstrates Openreach’s commitment to improving digital infrastructure and bridging the digital divide. Our engineers work hard every day to keep communities across Flintshire and the rest of Wales connected, and it was great to be able to share the challenges and realities of delivering this technology.
“I would urge everyone in the local area to keep an eye on the build locally to see when full fibre is available to them. They can visit the Openreach fibre checker, which is regularly updated with our build progress and when full fibre is available in specific areas.”
Openreach is leading the full fibre charge in Wales to build an ultrafast network that is faster, better and more affordable than ever.
With download speeds of 1 Gbps, it’s up to 10 times faster than the average home broadband connection. That means faster game downloads, better quality video calls and higher resolution movie streaming.
You can also use multiple devices at once without experiencing slowdown – so more people in your household can get online at once. Even if the rest of your family are making video calls, streaming box sets or gaming online, all at the same time – you won’t experience stuttering, buffering or dropouts.
Full fibre is also less affected by peak time congestion – so you can enjoy your Saturday night blockbuster in 4K without the dreaded buffering screen.
About Openreach in Wales
Openreach is on track to reach 25 million UK homes and businesses with access to Full Fibre ultrafast broadband and has already reached nearly 750,000 properties across Wales.
With a workforce of around 2,300 in Wales, Openreach already employs the nation’s largest team of telecoms engineers and professionals.
Across Wales more than 35% of homes and businesses have already ordered a full fibre service from a range of retail service providers using the Openreach network. But this means that thousands more could be benefiting from some of the fastest, most reliable broadband connections in Europe and have yet to upgrade.
Recent research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) highlighted the clear economic benefits of connecting everyone in Wales to full fibre. It estimated this would create a £2 billion boost to the Welsh economy.
This short video explains what Full Fibre technology is and you can find out more about our Fibre First programme, latest availability and local plans here.
Gwasanaeth tra-chyflym: band eang ffeibr cyflawn yn yr Wyddgrug
Yn ddiweddar ymwelodd Sam Rowlands AS â grwp o beirianwyr Openreach sydd wedi bod yn brysur yn adeiladu rhwydwaith band eang ffeibr cyflawn tra-chyflym ar draws y gogledd.
Gwelodd waith y peirianwyr i ddarparu band eang ffeibr cyflawn ar gyfer cartrefi a busnesau’r ardal. Erbyn hyn mae oddeutu 76% o gartrefi a busnesau sir y Fflint yn gallu elwa o fuddsoddiad Openreach - gwerth cyfanswm o £17 miliwn* - er darparu band eang yn cymharu â’r mwyaf cyflym a dibynadwy yn y wlad gyfan.
Dechreuodd ei daith wrth ymweld â chyfnewidfa ffôn yr Wyddgrug, sef man cychwyn rhywdwaith band eang ffeibr cyflawn yr ardal.
Yn y gyfnewidfa, profodd Aelod Senedd y Gogledd waith sbleisio ffeibr - sy’n ffiwsio dau gebl ffeibr optig â’i gilydd. Gwaith sy’n chwarae rôl hanfodol o fewn rhwydwaith ffeibr cyflawn Openreach, sydd eisoes wedi cysylltu bron 12 miliwn cartref a busnes ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig.
Yna, aeth ar daith fer drwy’r dref i weld cymal olaf rhwydwaith ffeibr cyflawn Openreach a chael cyfle i drafod â’r peirianwyr lleol sy’n lledu’r dechnoleg newydd i gymunedau ar draws y gogledd.
Yn sgil y buddsoddiad, bydd trigolion a busnesau ardal yr Wyddgrug yn edrych ymlaen at dderbyn cysylltedd gwell ac isafu cyfnodau oedi, ynghyd â’r gallu i ddefnyddio pecynnau a gwasanaethau datblygedig. Gallai band eang ffeibr tra-chyflym hefyd ddenu busnesau newydd, hyrwyddo tyfiant economaidd a gwella cynhwysiad digidol wrth ddarparu cyfleoedd cyfartal ym meysydd addysg, cyflogaeth ac arloesi.
Dywedodd Sam Rowlands AS: “Rwy’n falch iawn o weld ffrwyth gwaith Openreach i ddarparu band eang ffeibr cyflawn yn yr Wyddgrug a gweddill y gogledd.
“Mae’n cynrychioli buddsoddiad sylweddol gan Openreach, sy’n newyddion gwych i bobl yn byw a gweithio yn y ardal.
”Yn sicr, ffeibr cyflawn yw dyfodol gwasanaethau cysylltedd a rhaid croesawu penderfyniad Openreach i fuddsoddi’n helaeth yn yr ardal.
“Rwy’n edrych ymlaen at weld y gwaith yn datblygu er mwyn galluogi pob un o’r etholwyr i elwa o wasanaethau digidol ym meysydd cyflogaeth, addysg ac adloniant.”
Trefnwyd yr ymweliad gan Martin Williams, Cyfarwyddwr Partneriaethau Cymru, a ddywedodd: “Fe wnaethom groesawu’r cyfle i ddangos ein gwaith i Sam wrth fuddsoddi yn ein rhwydwaith ffeibr cyflawn. Mae ein buddsoddiad yn sir y Fflint yn dangos ymrwymiad Openreach i wella’r rhwydwaith a phontio’r bwlch digidol. Bydd ein peirianwyr yn gweithio’n galed bob dydd i gynnal cysylltiadau cyfathrebu cymunedau sir y Fflint a gweddill y wlad, ac roeddem wedi gwerthfawrogi’r cyfle i rannu heriau’r gwaith.
“Rwy’n annog pawb yn yr ardal i gadw golwg ar y gwaith er mwyn gweld pryd bydd ffeibr cyflawn ar gael iddynt. Gallant wneud hynny yn Openreach fibre checker, fydd yn cynnwys manylion diweddaraf ein gwaith a dyddiadau darparu ffeibr cyflawn mewn ardaloedd penodol.”
Openreach sy’n arwain y gwaith yng Nghymru i adeiladu rhwydwaith tra-chyflym fydd yn darparu gwasanaethau mwy cyflym, gwell a fforddiadwy nag erioed o’r blaen.
Wrth lwytho data ar gyflymder o 1 Gbps, bydd hyd at 10 gwaith yn gyflymach na’r cysylltiad band eang cartref cyfartalog - fydd yn golygu llwytho gemau yn gyflymach, galwadau fideo safon uwch a ffrydio ffilmiau HD.
Bydd hefyd yn hwyluso defnyddio sawl dyfais heb unrhyw arafu - gyda mwy o bobl yn eich cartref yn gallu mynd arlein ar yr un pryd. Hyd yn oed os bydd gweddill y teulu’n gwneud galwadau fideo, ffrydio pecynnau teledu neu chwarae gemau arlein, ar yr un pryd - ni fyddwch yn profi unrhyw ymyrraeth, byffro neu golled signal.
Yn ogystal, ni fydd ffeibr cyflawn yn destun tagfeydd amserau brig - felly gallwch fwynhau ffilm fawr nos Sadwrn yn 4K heb boeni am broblemau byffro.
Openreach yng Nghymru
Mae Openreach yn dilyn ei raglen i gyrraedd 25 miliwn o gwsmeriaid yn y Deyrnas Unedig gyda band eang ffeibr cyflawn tra-chyflym ac eisoes wedi cyrraedd bron 750,000 cartref a busnes drwy Gymru.
Gyda gweithlu o oddeutu 2,300 yng Nghymru, mae Openreach eisoes yn cyflogi tîm peirianwyr a gweithwyr cysylltiedig mwyaf y genedl.
Yng Nghymru mae dros 35% o gwsmeriaid eisoes wedi archebu gwasanaeth ffeibr cyflawn gan amrediad o gwmnïau gwasanaeth sy’n defnyddio rhwydwaith Openreach. Ond mae hynny’n golygu bod miloedd o bobl eraill heb fachu ar y cyfle hyd yma i elwa o rai o’r cysylltiadau band eang mwyaf cyflym a dibynadwy yn Ewrop.
Ymchwil diweddar gan CEBR (Centre for Economics and Business Research) wedi tanlinellu’r buddion economaidd clir o gysylltu pawb yng Nghymru â ffeibr cyflawn. Amcangyfrifwyd byddai’n rhoi hwb gwerth £2 biliwn i economi Cymru.
Fideo byr yn esbonio technoleg ffeibr cyflawn a manylion pellach am ein rhaglen ffeibr, darpariaethau diwddaraf a chynlluniau lleol yma.
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[1] Investment figure based on an average build cost of £300 per premises.
