It’s safe to say that we are blessed by living in one of the most beautiful and welcoming parts of the world.
The ongoing dust up with the energy giants over plans for wind turbines and pylons shows just how much our countryside means to us, and unlike most of Britain, we tend to know everyone on our street, let alone who lives next door.
But rural Wales does have one or two drawbacks that are in danger of leaving us behind.
The roads are one, but there’s not much we can do about that, and in this modern day world of fast communications, fast broadband is another.
The service provided by the so called ‘big’ internet providers is nothing short of scandalous. We all sign up to the promise of this and that when in fact they are delivering just enough to keep us connected. The speed at which they are rectifying too the issue is shameful.
At a time when they are promoting 4G and lightning quick broadband to the masses, the minorities are still struggling to download photos, so don’t even get me started on downloading music and videos! It is akin to car companies selling big engine brands in the cities while we’d have to make do with a moped!
But the cavalry has arrived after the Welsh Government introduced a scheme to allow householders struggling with slow speeds to receive 100% funding to have superfast broadband installed by a growing number of independent providers.
I decided to give it a go and, despite being initially sceptical with the form filling required, it has quite literally changed my world!
Having shopped around, living in Guilsfield I was impressed by the marketing material from Airband who have invested in hardware to bring the village online.
Those afore mentioned paperwork concerns soon disappeared with the help of their customer service and they have even streamlined their operation further since with a pledge that applications (including the grant part) can be completed in just 20 minutes over a few days.
The company has already brought 150 local homes online. The result for me has been staggering.
The dreaded ‘buffering’ message is a thing of the past with YouTube, Apple TV and streaming now uninterrupted. MyTown Media work obviously means most of the day is spent online, so I estimate a daily saving of an hour at least.
The company offers a 20Mbps service for £22 a month, a fiver saving on what I was paying because they don’t need a phone line so I can also wave good bye once and for all to the dreaded landline and annoying PPI calls!
As a nice touch too, those who sign up before the end of June receive a free six months.
Of course the installation grant means that not everyone is eligible. You need to be crawling along at less than 2Mbps which unfortunately most of us in the villages do. Airband will guide you through the process step by step.
So after early apprehension, I discovered what the rest of Britain has been enjoying for a long time and wholeheartedly recommend it.
To give it a go and to see if Airband is operating near you, visit http://www.airband.co/