After some false starts in the past, residents of the tiny coastal Pembrokeshire (Wales) village of Dale can now finally start enjoying access to a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network, which is thanks to a deployment by local ISP Voneus that was funded by the government’s gigabit voucher scheme.
The original deployment for Dale was actually planned several years ago as part of Broadway Partners involvement with the local authority’s Digital Connectivity Programme (DCP), although that ended up running into difficulties after Broadway fell into administration in May 2023. But hope for a solution began to return after Voneus acquired the operator’s network a few months later of that same year (here).
The good news today, as spotted by Thinkbroadband (via the council’s website), is that much of the Dale area, including the whole village, has now finally been connected to gigabit-capable broadband. New customers will thus be able to take speeds of 250Mbps (symmetric) from just £29.99 on a 24-month term, which rises to £59.99 if you want a 900Mbps service (includes free installation and a router). The first month of service is free.
Cllr Paul Miller, Deputy Leader, said:
“Connecting our rural communities is a significant step in the digital infrastructure of Pembrokeshire.
Along with our partners, this extensive programme of work has transformed full fibre connectivity and will futureproof the network in our county. “The commitment from this authority will ensure our communities won’t be left without connection.
There is more to do, but thanks to a proactive approach by the County Council, full fibre will be offered to more and more communities all the time.”
We should add that other operators, such as Openreach, also appear to have tentative plans to deploy FTTP around some of the same area by 2026.