More than 600 public sector buildings in Wales have now been connected to high speed, full fibre broadband, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced.
It described the £11.5 million initiative – which has included hospitals, police stations, libraries and other public buildings – as the largest public sector broadband project in Wales.
It has provided the buildings with speeds of up 1Gbps under the Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) and Rural Gigabit Connectivity (RGC) Hubs programmes.
DCMS said that, in addition to supporting public services, the connections will incentivise commercial broadband providers to deliver upgrades to surrounding homes and businesses by extending the network, which is cheaper and quicker than having to build it from scratch.
Making lives easier
Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said: “This is a significant step that will make so many people’s lives easier in Wales.
“Every day increasingly more public services are being delivered online. The investment of £11.5m from the UK Government to improve connectivity means the public will have better access to these services which will be faster and more efficient.
“And for those who do the vital work in these locations such as GP surgeries, day care centres and libraries – they will notice a transformation which will allow them to deliver their important work with greater ease.”
