BT has signed a £9.8 million contract to deliver full fibre broadband access to almost 1,800 hard-to-reach sites across the Swansea Bay City region.
BT has been awarded the contract for the Better Broadband Infill Project by Swansea Bay City Deal’s Digital Infrastructure Programme, which will be delivered in partnership with Openreach.
The project has been designed to support levelling up in key areas where a connectivity gap exists. BT will provide additional funding to increase the overall value of the project to more than £10 million.
It will bring full fibre broadband access to 1,533 premises and an additional 256 sites across the four counties in the Swansea Bay City region: Pembrokeshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire.
The homes and businesses included are predominantly in harder to reach, rural areas where the cost to provide faster broadband services is considerably higher.
It specifically targets premises that currently have broadband speeds of less than 30Mbps and who are not in scope for any other government-funded fibre expansion projects or part of commercial build plans.
Cllr. Rob Stewart, Leader of Swansea Council and Chair of the Swansea Bay City Deal joint committee, said, “This project is a game-changer for our region. By bringing high-speed Internet to areas that have been left behind, we are not only improving quality of life but also opening up new opportunities for economic and social development.
“Access to reliable broadband is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity. This project will ensure that everyone in the Swansea Bay region can participate fully in the digital age.”
Susi Marston, head of public Sector Wales at BT, said, “Connectivity is at the heart of how people live and work today, but all of that relies on the right infrastructure being in place.
“The Better Broadband Infill Project will improve services for thousands of people across the Swansea Bay City region, who will benefit from state-of-the-art connectivity even in hard-to-reach areas.”
The Better Broadband Infill Project is set to start this month and will continue its delivery across the region over six phases, with the first 220 premises connected by December this year and a completion date of 31 March 2027.