Carmarthen joins ‘ultrafast lane’ as broadband buzz comes to market town

Around 1000 homes and businesses in the market town of Carmarthen – that lays claim to being the oldest town in Wales - can now access ‘full fibre’ broadband speeds of up to one gigabit per second (1000Mbps) – that’s among the fastest speeds in Europe and more than 15 times faster than today’s UK average broadband speed.

As designated key workers, Openreach engineers have been hard at work throughout the Covid-19 lockdown, building the new digital network of the future that uses the latest Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband technology – where fibre optic cables are laid all the way from the exchange to people’s front doors.

The new technology is already ‘live’ in parts of Carmarthen and people living in streets such as Bro Myrddin, St Davids Street and Devereaux Drive can now place an order. To find out if your property can place an order for full fibre visit www.openreach.co.uk/fibrecheckerpr.

More and more properties across Carmarthenshire are set to benefit from this next generation network over the coming weeks and months as Openreach engineers connect around 200-300 properties a week.

Connie Dixon, Openreach’s Partnership Director for Wales, said: “We’re making great progress here in Carmarthenshire and our full fibre build has continued despite the obvious challenges. As well as keeping people connected using our existing network, our engineers have continued building the new infrastructure to make sure that as lockdown restrictions ease, we can support families, businesses and the economic recovery.”

“I’d encourage everyone who can to upgrade to the new technology and take advantage of the many benefits. Full fibre is more reliable and more resilient, meaning fewer faults and more predictable, consistent speeds. It’s also ‘future-proof’ as we expect it to easily meet the growing data demands of future technologies for decades to come.”

Carmarthenshire County Council’s executive board member for rural affairs, Cllr Cefin Campbell said: “This is an exciting development in Carmarthen and would benefit a lot of those struggling with digital connectivity. We also look forward to seeing a similar provision in our more rural communities.”

Recent research suggests the new network could bring clear economic benefits as Carmarthenshire and the rest of Wales looks to bounce back from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A report by the Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr) found that connecting everyone in Wales ‘full fibre’ broadband would create nearly a £2 billion boost to the Welsh economy, by unlocking smarter ways of working, better public services and greater opportunities for the next-generation of home-grown businesses.

The report also revealed that 25,000 people across Wales could be brought back into the workforce through enhanced connectivity - including in small businesses and through entrepreneurship.

Openreach has recently expanded its UK national plans and will now make FTTP technology available to 4.5 million homes and businesses across the UK by the end of March 2021 – an increase of 500,000 premises. By the mid-to-late 2020s the company wants to reach 20 million premises – almost two thirds of the UK – assuming the right conditions are in place to support investment.

Ten fantastic full fibre facts:

1. Connecting everyone in Wales to ‘full fibre’ broadband by 2025 would create a £2 billion boost to the Welsh economy.
2. Fibre optics are strands of glass around one tenth the thickness of a human hair. They transmit data using light signals.
3. A single strand of fibre can provide enough capacity to serve up to 32 individual properties with Gigabit speeds.
4. Pure fibre optic broadband can run at speeds of 1 gigabit per second (1000Mbps) – that’s more than 15 times faster than today’s UK average broadband speed. You can download a two-hour HD film in less time than it takes to make a cup of tea. And video gamers could download a 5-gigabyte virtual reality (VR) game in 1.7 minutes, instead of waiting half an hour.
5. More people getting online at the same time is easier too – a family of four can all stream ultra HD or 4k quality video simultaneously, without waiting or buffering.
6. Full fibre is more reliable than traditional copper connections. A full fibre broadband signal isn’t affected by external interference whereas copper can be impacted by outside electrical signals – including electric fences and even bad weather! One recent report stated ‘that ‘full fibre’ is 70%-80% more reliable than copper resulting in lower fault rates.’
7. A fibre optic cable can send a signal over 120 miles without any real loss of quality. Traditional copper cables can lose signal at around one mile.
8. Full fibre is better for the environment – the amount of electricity used to power fibre is significantly less than needed for copper cables. Better connectivity also enables more people to work from home – which cuts down on commuting. Research suggests fibering up the whole of the UK could save 300 million commuting trips – reducing carbon emissions by 360,000 tonnes.
9. Full fibre can boost business productivity. It enables cheaper broadband powered phone services, and better access to cloud-based computing services. For example, full fibre connectivity combined with cloud computing means businesses can upload, store, access and download vast amounts of data in minutes instead of hours. Data is backed up and securely archived off-site so not relying on costly, ageing servers taking up expensive office space.
10. Full fibre broadband will be crucial in supporting plans to give NHS patients access to ‘virtual clinics’ where patients who don’t physically need to come hospital can get a video consultation with their doctor. It can also allow hospitals to share HD quality graphics of medical scans in seconds to improve diagnosis speeds. For example, medical staff can download a 2 gigabyte CT scan in 40 seconds, instead of 14 minutes.

Caerfyrddin yn croesawu band eang ffeibr i’w gymharu â’r gorau yn Ewrop

Mae addewid Openreach i sicrhau bod band eang ffeibr oes nesaf, tra-chyflym, tra-dibynadwy ar gael mewn 40 o leoliadau gwledig ledled Cymru yn dechrau dod yn realiti yng Nghaerfyrddin.

Erbyn hyn mae tua 1000 cartref a busnes yn y dref farchnad - y drefn hynaf yng Nghymru mae’n debyg - yn gallu cael band eang ‘ffeibr cyflawn’ ar gyflymder hyd at un gigabeit yr eiliad (1000Mbps) - sef ymhlith y cyflymaf yn Ewrop a dros 15 gwaith yn gyflymach na gwasanaeth band eang cyfartalog y Deyrnas Unedig.

Fel gweithwyr allweddol dynodedig, roedd peirianwyr Openreach yn brysur drwy gydol cyfnod clo Covid-19, yn adeiladu rhwydwaith digidol newydd gyda thechnoleg band eang FTTP (ffeibr i’r adeilad) sy’n rhedeg ceblau ffeibr optig o’r gyfnewidfa i ddrysau cartrefi cwsmeriaid.

Mae’r dechnoleg newydd eisoes yn ‘fyw’ mewn rhannau o’r dref ac fe all pobl sydd yn byw ar strydoedd fel Bro Myrddin, Stryd Dewi Sant a Rhodfa Devereaux archebu’r gwasanaeth heddiw. Gallwch wirio os yw eich cartref neu busnes yn gallu gosod archeb trwy ymweld âg www.openreach.co.uk/fibrecheckerpr.

Bydd mwy o gartrefi a busnesau ar draws y sir yn elwa o’r rhwydwaith newydd dros yr wythnosau a misoedd nesaf wrth i beirianwyr Openreach gysylltu tua 200-300 adeilad yr wythnos.

Dywedodd Connie Dixon, cyfarwyddwraig partneriaethau Cymru Openreach: “Rydym yn gweithio’n galed yn sir Gâr, gyda’r gwaith i ymestyn y rhwydwaith ffeibr cyflawn yn parhau er yr heriau dros y cyfnod diweddar. Yn ogystal â chynnal cysylltiadau cwsmeriaid â’n rhwydwaith cyfredol, mae ein peirianwyr wedi parhau i adeiladu’r seilwaith newydd er mwyn sicrhau byddwn yn gallu cefnogi teuluoedd, busnesau a’r adfywiad economaidd pan fydd y llywodraeth yn rhyddhau’r cyfyngiadau”.

“Rwy’n argymell pawb sy’n gallu gwneud hynny i uwchraddio i’r dechnoleg newydd a bachu ar y cyfleoedd. Mae ffeibr cyflawn yn fwy cyflym a dibynadwy, sy’n golygu llai o namau a gwasanaethau cyflym a chyson. Bydd hefyd yn barod ar gyfer y dyfodol wrth ddiwallu gofynion data am ddegawdau i ddod.”

Dywedodd aelod bwrdd gweithredol Cyngor Sir Gâr gyda chyfrifoldeb am faterion gwledig, y Cynghorydd Cefin Campbell: “Mae’n ddatblygiad cyffrous yng Nghaerfyrddin fydd yn helpu llawer o bobl sy’n wynebu problemau cael cysylltiadau digidol. Rydym hefyd yn edrych ymlaen at weld darpariaethau tebyg yn ein cymunedau gwledig”.

Yn ôl ymchwil diweddar, gallai’r rhwydwaith newydd ddod â buddion economaidd clir wrth i’r sir a gweddill y wlad edrych i adfywio ar ôl effeithiau pandemig Covid-19.

Datgelodd adroddiad gan Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr) y gallai cysylltu pawb yng Nghymru â band eang ‘ffeibr cyflawn’ roi hwb gwerth bron £2 biliwn i economi Cymru, gan greu dulliau gweithredu newydd, gwella gwasanaethau cyhoeddus a chreu cyfleoedd ar gyfer y genhedlaeth nesaf o fusnesau.

Yn ogystal, datgelodd yr adroddiad y gellid croesawu 25,000 o bobl ar draws y wlad yn ôl i’r gweithlu wrth wella cysylltiadau cyfathrebu - yn cynnwys busnesau bach ac wrth symbylu entrepreneuriaeth.

Yn ddiweddar, datblygodd Openreach ei gynlluniau ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig wrth ymrwymo i ddarparu technoleg FTTP ar gyfer 4.5 miliwn cartref a busnes ar draws y wlad erbyn diwedd Mawrth 2021 - cynnydd o 500,000 adeilad. Erbyn diwedd y 2020au mae’r cwmni am gyrraedd 20 miliwn adeilad - sef 66% o’r Deyrnas Unedig - o gael yr amgylchiadau iawn i gefnogi buddsoddiad.

Deg ffaith ffeibr cyflawn:

1. Gallai cysylltu pawb yng Nghymru â band eang ‘ffeibr cyflawn’ erbyn 2025 roi hwb gwerth £2 biliwn i economi Cymru.
2. Ceblau ffeibr optig yn cynnwys llinynnau gwydr tenau iawn (10% trwch gwallt pobl) sy’n trosglwyddo data wrth ddefnyddio signalau golau.
3. Un llinyn ffeibr yn gallu gwasanaethu hyd at 32 cartref gyda band eang gigabeit.
4. Band eang ffeibr optig pur yn gallu trosglwyddo data ar gyflymder o 1 gigabeit yr eiliad (1000Mbps) - sef 15 gwaith yn gyflymach na band eang cyfartalog y DU heddiw. Mae’n gallu llwytho ffilm dwy awr HD tra byddwch yn gwneud paned o de. A llwytho gêm realiti rhithwir 5 gigabeit mewn 1.7 munud, yn lle hanner awr.
5. Bydd hefyd yn galluogi mwy o bobl i fynd arlein ar yr un pryd - gyda theulu o bedwar yn ffrydio fideo ultra HD neu 4k heb unrhyw oedi.
6. Ffeibr cyflawn yn fwy dibynadwy na chysylltiadau copr traddodiadol. Ni fydd signal band eang ffeibr cyflawn yn destun ymyrraeth allanol ond mae signalau electronig allanol yn gallu effeithio cysylltiadau copr - yn cynnwys ffensys trydan a thywydd gwael! Yn ôl un adroddiad diweddar, mae ‘ffeibr cyflawn’ 70 - 80% yn fwy dibynadwy na chopr, sy’n achosi llai o namau.’
7. Cebl ffeibr optig yn gallu anfon signal dros 120 milltir heb golli ansawdd. Ceblau copr traddodiadol yn gallu colli signal ar ôl oddeutu 1 milltir.
8. Ffeibr cyflawn yn well i’r amgylchedd - gan ddefnyddio llai o drydan na cheblau copr. Bydd cysylltiadau gwell hefyd yn hwyluso gweithio gartref - gyda llai o bobl yn teithio i waith. Ymchwil yn awgrymu gallai gwasanaethu’r DU gyfan arbed miliwn o deithiau cymudo - gan ostwng allyriadau carbon oddeutu 360,000 tunnell.
9. Ffeibr cyflawn yn gallu hybu cynhyrchiant busnes, wrth ddarparu gwasanaethau ffôn rhatach dros fand eang a gwella mynediad i wasanaethau cwmwl. Er enghraifft, cysylltedd ffeibr cyflawn ar y cyd â gwasanaethau cwmwl yn golygu bod busnesau’n gallu anfon, storio a llwytho pecynnau data enfawr mewn munudau yn hytrach nag oriau. Cedwir copïau data oddi ar safleoedd, felly nid oes angen cynnal gweinyddion mawr mewn swyddfeydd costus.
10. Ffeibr cyflawn yn hanfodol er cefnogi cynlluniau i gysylltu cleifion y gwasanaeth iechyd â chlinigau rhithwir, gan drefnu cyfarfodydd fideo â meddygon pan na fydd angen iddynt ymweld ag ysbytai. Gallai hefyd alluogi ysbytai i rannu sganiau meddygol HD mewn eiliadau er mwyn hwyluso diagnosis. Er enghraifft, staff yn gallu llwytho sgan CT 2 gigabeit mewn 40 eiliad, yn hytrach na 14 munud.

-diwedd-