SIMON Frith moved to Talgarreg hoping to experience a better quality and slower pace of life.
However, he quickly discovered he was also experiencing unbearably slow broadband speeds and faced the prospect of digital isolation due to a poor internet connection.
With three children, all of either school or university age, not being able to get online was not an option.
Happily, National Broadband’s bespoke 4G broadband service was able to find the right solution for Simon and his household.
Within days a router was delivered, and an engineer installed their antenna which would deliver speeds of 40mbps, providing the family with the fast and reliable broadband they required.
“Us working adults would be lost without internet connection and it wouldn’t be fair on my children that are still in education,” said Simon.
“We also rely on the internet for entertainment, whether it’s PS4 or streaming Netflix. The assurance of consistent broadband connection has been a huge relief.
“There’s so much value in a good, reliable service. I’ve spoken to my neighbours, who basically don’t have any internet connection.
“They are blown away with our connection and what we can do as a household.”
According to Ofcom there are 55,000 properties in Wales that find themselves in a similar situation to the Frith family, with properties in rural areas over ten times more likely to experience speeds of less than 10mbps than those in urban areas.
David Hennell, Business Development Director, National Broadband said: “Unfortunately, there is still a major gap between the digital connectivity readily available to people in cities and towns and broadband services in the countryside.
“This ‘Digital Divide’ has a huge real-world impact on people.
“The most important thing for those in similar disadvantaged positions is to be aware that they don’t have to wait.
“The Welsh Assembly have realised the significant immediate benefit that 4G- and 5G-based connectivity can bring and their Access Broadband Cymru subsidy scheme offers to cover the entire set-up costs of a better broadband connection for those eligible.”
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