Openreach invest £25m in broadband boost for Wales
More than 80,000 additional homes and businesses in Wales are set to benefit from a major broadband boost thanks to a £25m investment by Openreach – the UK’s largest digital network provider, used by the likes of BT, Sky and TalkTalk, Vodafone and Zen. (Gweler fersiwn Cymraeg isod - Please see Welsh language version below)
When work is finished, people living and working in a further 9 communities across South Wales will be able to contact their broadband provider and upgrade to full fibre broadband, with the new network being built to the majority of premises in: Sketty, Gowerton, Ravenhill, Culverhouse, Llanrumney, Llanedeyrn, Cwmbran, Risca and Maindee.
This is a further boost for Ultrafast broadband across Wales as it follows several key announcements last year outlining plans that more than half a million homes and businesses would be getting access to Openreach’s new network, including hundreds of thousands in rural and harder to serve areas.
Welsh Government Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters MS said: “The impact of fast, affordable broadband for homes and businesses across Wales cannot be underestimated, supporting a thriving and sustainable vision for our future. Openreach is helping to realise faster speeds, greater access and better support for places that have previously found it harder to connect.”
“This news is especially important at the moment with so many people working from home where a reliable broadband connection is vital”.
Connie Dixon, Openreach’s regional director for Wales, said: “Nobody in Wales or the UK is building full fibre faster, further or at a higher quality than Openreach. We’re reaching more communities than ever and our team of highly-skilled local engineers, alongside our build partners, are working hard to deliver some of the fastest and most reliable broadband available anywhere in Europe.”
“In 2021 our engineers built around 770 metres of new broadband cables every minute – making Ultrafast broadband available to another home every 13 seconds. We’ve already reached six million homes and businesses across the UK with ultrafast full fibre technology including more than 425,000 in Wales but we know there’s more to do and we’re committed to doing it.”
Full fibre broadband is up to ten times faster than the average home broadband connection and around five times more reliable than the traditional copper-based network, providing more predictable, consistent speeds.
Across Wales more than 100,000 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.
Openreach engineers have been working hard to make the technology available to as many people as possible throughout the UK and the company’s plans are fundamental to the UK Government achieving its target of delivering ‘gigabit capable’ broadband to 85 per cent of UK by 2025. The company will invest billions of pounds to reach a total of 25 million premises by the end of December 2026, including more than six million in the hardest-to-serve parts of the country defined by industry regulator Ofcom.
Openreach employs around 2,500 and you can find out more about our Fibre First programme, latest availability and local plans here.
Openreach yn buddsoddi £25m mewn band eang yng Nghymru
Bydd dros 80,000 cartref a busnes ychwanegol yng Nghymru yn elwa o hwb mawr i’r rhaglen band eang yn dilyn buddsoddiad gwerth £25m gan Openreach - cwmni rhwydwaith digidol mwyaf y Deyrnas Unedig, a ddefnyddir gan gwmnïau fel BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone a Zen.
Ar ôl cwblhau’r gwaith, bydd pobl yn byw a gweithio mewn 9 cymuned ychwanegol ar draws de Cymru yn gallu gofyn eu cwmni band eang i uwchraddio’r gwasanaeth i fand eang ffeibr cyflawn, gyda’r rhwydwaith newydd yn gwasanaethu’r rhan helaeth o gartrefi a busnesau yn ardaloedd Sgeti, Tregŵyr, Ravenhill, Croes Cwrlwys, Llanrhymni, Llanedern, Cwmbrân, Rhisga a Maendy.
Mae’n cynrychioli hwb pellach i fand eang tra-chyflym ar draws y wlad, gan ddilyn sawl cyhoeddiad allweddol y llynedd i ddarparu mynediad i rwydwaith newydd Openreach ar gyfer dros hanner miliwn cartref a busnes, yn cynnwys cannoedd o filoedd mewn ardaloedd gwledig ac anodd eu cyrraedd.
Dywedodd Dirprwy Weinidog Llywodraeth Cymru dros y Newid yn yr Hinsawdd, Lee Waters AS: "Ni ellir tanbrisio effaith band eang cyflym, fforddiadwy i gartrefi a busnesau ledled Cymru bydd yn cefnogi gweledigaeth ffyniannus a chynaliadwy ar gyfer ein dyfodol. Mae Openreach yn ein helpu i wireddu cyflymderau cyflymach, mwy o fynediad a gwell cefnogaeth i leoedd sydd wedi ei chael hi'n anoddach i gysylltu o'r blaen."
"Mae'r newyddion hyn yn arbennig o bwysig ar hyn o bryd gyda chymaint o bobl yn gweithio o adref lle mae cysylltiad band eang dibynadwy yn hanfodol".
Dywedodd Connie Dixon, cyfarwyddwraig rhanbarthol Openreach yng Nghymru: “Nid oes unrhyw gwmni yng Nghymru neu’r Deyrnas Unedig yn gosod ffeibr cyflawn yn gyflymach, yn bellach neu o safon uwch nag Openreach. Rydym yn cyrraedd mwy o gymunedau nag erioed, gyda’n tîm o beirianwyr lleol yn cydweithio â’n partneriaid er mwyn darparu gwasanaethau band eang ymhlith y mwyaf cyflym a dibynadwy yn y byd.
“Yn 2021 roedd ein peirianwyr wedi gosod oddeutu 770 metr o geblau band eang newydd bob munud - gan ddarparu band eang tra-chyflym ar gyfer cartref newydd bob 13 eiliad. Rydym eisoes wedi cysylltu 6 miliwn cartref a busnes ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig gyda thechnoleg ffeibr cyflawn, yn cynnwys dros 425,000 yng Nghymru ond mae dal llawer o waith o’n blaenau ac rydym yn benderfynol o’i gyflawni.”
Mae band eang ffeibr cyflawn hyd at 10 gwaith yn gyflymach na’r cysylltiad band eang cartref cyfartalog ac oeddutu pum gwaith yn fwy dibynadwy na’r hen rwydwaith copr, gan ddarparu cyflymderau mwy cyson a dibynadwy.
Yng Nghymru mae dros 100,000 cartref a busnes eisoes wedi archebu gwasanaeth ffeibr cyflawn gan amryw gwmnïau gwasanaeth sy’n defnyddio rhwydwaith Openreach. Ond mae hynny hefyd yn golygu gallai miloedd o bobl eraill elwa o’r cysylltiadau band eang mwyaf cyflym a dibynadwy yn y byd, ond heb wneud hynny eto.
Mae ymchwil diweddar gan Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) wedi tanlinellu’r buddion economaidd o gysylltu pawb yng Nghymru â’r rhwydwaith ffeibr cyflawn. Amcangyfrifir byddai’n creu hwb gwerth £2 biliwn i economi’r wlad.
Mae peirianwyr Openreach wedi gweithio'n galed i ledu’r dechnoleg i gymaint o bobl â phosibl ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig, gyda chynlluniau’r cwmni yn elfen allweddol wrth helpu Llywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig i ddarparu band eang ‘gigabeit’ ar gyfer 85% o’r wlad erbyn 2025. Bydd y cwmni’n buddsoddi biliynau o bunnoedd er mwyn cyrraedd 25 miliwn cartref a busnes erbyn diwedd Rhagfyr 2026, yn cynnwys dros 6 miliwn yn yr ardaloedd mwyaf anodd eu cyrraedd a bennwyd gan reoleiddiwr y diwydiant Ofcom.
Yng Nghymru, mae Openreach yn cyflogi gweithlu o oddeutu 2,500 a gallwch ddysgu mwy am ein rhaglen Ffeibr Gyntaf, ein darpariaethau diweddaraf a’n cynlluniau lleol yma.
DIWEDD
