Broadband services in rural Wales get funding boost

The Welsh Assembly Government has announced the launch of a new £2 million fund aimed at helping firms in the rural parts of the country benefit from access to business broadband services.

Under the new initiative, both households and business premises located in broadband ‘not-spots’ will be able to apply for grants of up to £1,000.

This will enable them to pay a third party to connect them to high-speed internet services, with the national government confident that such a move will ensure that Wales does not fall behind the rest of the UK in terms of technological development.

Announcing the news, Welsh deputy first minister Ieuan Wyn Jones explained that, while the assembly is under pressure to cut costs, it would be unwise to neglect broadband access.

Such a high-speed broadband infrastructure, he explained is “vital to ensure our country can develop the knowledge economy, improving the ability of businesses and individuals to network and innovate”.

This comes in the same week that new figures were published by the UK Online Measurement Company (UKOM) which showed that the number of British homes and businesses getting access to broadband services climbed again in May.

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