Openreach gear up to bring ultrafast speeds back to Pendine

Openreach is starting work to build a new ultrafast broadband network for Pendine in Carmarthenshire – giving both residents and businesses access to some of the fastest, most reliable broadband available.

The once-in-a-generation, full fibre broadband upgrade will let locals connect multiple devices at gigabit-capable speeds and help businesses trade online and compete for decades to come.

Pendine, known for its rich history and breathtaking landscapes, is a vast 7 mile stretch of beach where numerous World Land Speed record attempts have taken place over the years. From Sir Malcolm Campbell’s first land speed record of 146.16 miles per hour (mph) in his “Blue Bird”, Welshman J.G. Parry-Thomas’ record attempts in “Babs” to more recent World records set by Guy Martin and Idris Elba.

And now the small coastal Carmarthenshire village’s connection to speed will be complemented with some of the fastest broadband speeds in Europe.

Made possible as a result of Openreach’s Fibre Community Partnership Scheme, Pendine residents have applied for and pooled together free UK Government broadband vouchers that has gone towards the cost of the build.

Engineers have started work and the ultrafast broadband is expected to reach the majority of local homes and businesses throughout 2024. But more vouchers need to be pledged to ensure that the more rural parts of Pendine don’t miss out.

Full fibre broadband provides more reliable, resilient and future-proof connectivity; with fewer faults; more predictable, consistent speeds and enough capacity to easily meet growing data demands.

Residents can enjoy a host of online services and entertainment, with seamless streaming and smooth online gaming. The technology also supports day-to-day, business critical tasks like video calls, banking and online customer interactions.

Martin Williams, Openreach Partnership Director for Wales, said: “This is a really exciting opportunity for people living and working in Pendine and we’re delighted to be able to bring all the benefits of ultrafast, ultra-reliable Full Fibre broadband to the community.

“Our Fibre Community Partnership programme has meant that we’ve been able to bring thousands of additional properties across Wales and the rest of the UK into our Full Fibre build plans. But building out the network to these harder to reach locations is still challenging – which is why it’s only possible with everyone working together  – you, your neighbours and Openreach.

“We still need more pledges in Pendine to ensure we can go even further to those properties that are on the outskirts of the village so would urge people to get involved and not miss out.”

County Cllr. Jane Tremlett, Member for Laugharne Township Ward, said “Knowing this local community and understanding it’s frustrations with having poor broadband connectivity for many years, the work that has started to improve that, is absolutely welcomed.”

“Our rural communities should have the same access as our towns, to maintain their social inclusion in society and having decent broadband is integral to that. It’s great that residents have been able to apply for government vouchers, making sure that the installation bears no cost to them and I look forward to hearing about the benefits once the infrastructure is live.”

Openreach has identified around 25,000 homes and businesses in 50 communities across Wales as being within scope for Full Fibre as part of the scheme and is urging local people to take the next step by applying for and pooling together free Government Gigabit Vouchers to help fund the build.

If enough people sign up, they will join around 900, 000 homes and businesses across Wales who already have access to full fibre broadband.

Funding through the UK Government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme and the deployment of innovative engineering techniques,  means thousands more remote, rural  and coastal communities like Pendine  are now within reach of the ultrafast technology.

Similar to Pendine, residents can check if they qualify and pledge their voucher on the Connect My Community website. Using the vouchers – which don’t cost residents anything, enables Openreach to work with a local community to build a customised, co-funded network.

Once enough people pledge and validate their vouchers, Openreach engineers will start the build. This can take up to 12-18 months, and some properties may go live before others.