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The Swansea Bay City Region project has announced that it’s successfully completed 50% of its Full Fibre Infrastructure Build project with BT. This forms part of the related ‘Swansea Bay City Deal’s Digital Infrastructure Programme’ and is helping to upgrade key public sector sites with “future proofed” broadband connectivity.
Just to recap. The UK and Welsh Governments gave their approval for a £55m digital infrastructure investment under the £1.3bn Swansea Bay City Region project back in 2021 (here), which among other things aimed to expand full fibre and 5G mobile connectivity to benefit residents and businesses across Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea. Some of this investment comes from the Local Broadband Fund (LBF) for Wales.
NOTE: Beneficiaries of the project include all four local authorities across the Swansea Bay City Region, Hywel Dda and Swansea Bay University Health Boards.
The full fibre build, delivered by BT via the Welsh Government funded Public Sector Broadband Aggregation (PSBA), aims to provide improved broadband provision to public sector sites across the region via a secure Wide Area Network (WAN) – offering a fully managed service that enhances business-critical connectivity, and allows public sector organisations to benefit from cost-effective and resilient network services.
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This all reflects a £2m joint investment, £1.05m of which has been secured by the Digital Infrastructure Programme from the Welsh Government’s LBF.
Simon Davies, Carmarthenshire County Council, said:
“Reaching this 50% milestone is a fantastic achievement and one that will greatly improve the services of these public sector sites.
Upgrading these locations to having gigabit-capable digital infrastructure is essential for their future prosperity. Our regional public sector partners need to move forwards with their use of digital technology to ensure that the best experiences can be offered and this project is a valuable part of achieving that.”
Rob Stewart, Chair of the Swansea Bay City Deal Joint Committee, said:
“Keeping up with the increasing demand for digital services across the public sector is critical in ensuring the best possible experiences for our residents and businesses, and in order to do this, we must invest in the infrastructure required to ensure our services are futureproofed for the next 20 years. Achieving the 50% mark is a key milestone for this project and has allowed several sites to already reap the benefits of full fibre. We look forward to continuing to work closely with BT and the PSBA on the full completion of this project in supporting the transformation of public service delivery”.
The aim of the project is to drive full fibre broadband to 69 publicly owned sites in need of improved infrastructure. Additionally, approximately 425 residential and business premises will benefit from improved broadband as a result, and the project is expected to stimulate further commercial investment, accelerating the rollout of full fibre networks across the region.
Sites completed in this phase include strategic locations that are vital to public service delivery. These sites have been prioritised to maximise the impact on the community and ensure the most efficient use of resources.