A campaign to get better broadband for Montgomeryshire has been launched by AM Russell George who says the people of Montgomeryshire are fed up of being second best and need fast and reliable broadband to improve the area’s social and economic future.
The ‘Speed Up Our Broadband in Montgomeryshire’ campaign – www.montybroadband.com - will see the AM urging residents and businesses to help him identify broadband ‘not spots’ (areas of slow or no broadband connections) by undertaking an area-wide speed test over 18-19 August.
He will use the results to lobby for improvements in infrastructure and better internet connectivity throughout Wales.
Local resident and businesswoman, Annette Burgess from Montgomery, is backing the campaign. She is Managing Director of Internet Service Provider (ISP) eXwavia, which is based near Welshpool and provides wireless broadband services throughout Wales.
eXwavia has already brought wireless broadband to Anglesey in North Wales and the communities in and around Adfa and Cefn Coch in Montgomeryshire where speeds were below 2Mbps and residents and businesses can now choose anything between 4Mbps and 60Mbps.
“Broadband is vital for rural communities such as Montgomeryshire. It’s a utility just like electricity or the telephone – a service that we all need,” said Mr George.
“Socially it’s more and more important to have broadband in order to undertake some basic tasks for many in rural areas, such as banking, e-mailing friends and family, doing shopping or being able to access online services that many people in urban areas take for granted.
“For businesses broadband has become a vital tool and unless we have fast and reliable internet connections, many businesses will struggle to do its business online and will simply become uncompetitive.”
He added that as Montgomeryshire’s economy is heavily reliant on the agricultural industry, farmers are having to increasingly record livestock data and access government databases solely online.
“Farmers could face financial penalties in the future if they cannot access online services to record data. It’s that simple,” he said.
The campaign will build-up to a local broadband speed test weekend on 18-19 August when residents and businesses will be able to test and record their speed before sending the results to the campaign through www.montyspeedtest.com, allowing Mr George to consider areas where help is needed and to lobby for better broadband provision.
Annette Burgess added: “As a local broadband provider we’re conscious of how communities are struggling to even connect to broadband in some instances, let alone get a reasonable speed.
“We’re working with several communities in Montgomeryshire to bring fast and reliable broadband and we’ve delivered to places such as Adfa and Cefn Coch where businesses and residents can now connect with a speed of 4Mbps or even 60Mbps.
“But we’re supporting the ‘Speed Up Our Broadband in Montgomeryshire’ campaign because nobody really knows how bad it is in some communities. By undertaking the speed test weekend in August we’ll have a much clearer picture allowing our AM to identify where pressure needs to be placed to improve broadband provision.”
Posters are being distributed to residents and businesses throughout the area to place in windows and on noticeboards to demonstrate support and to promote the campaign.
More information can be found at www.montybroadband.com.
Caption: Annette Burgess of Montgomeryshire-based ISP eXwavia and AM Russell George at the launch of the broadband campaign.
