Mick's Battle on Broadband Bounds into the Bay

9.55.59am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 24th Jan 2008

Montgomeryshire AM Mick Bates has campaigned with local residents for better broadband in Mid Wales and today presents the fruit of his campaign to the Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones. This comes as in the chamber Welsh Liberal Democrats demand better broadband availability across Wales, to allow Welsh businesses to compete in the global economy.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Mick Bates AM said:

"Broadband is a huge problem for people living and working in rural Wales and I am deeply concerned that the Labour-Plaid Government is failing the people of Montgomeryshire, who are still unable to access a broadband connection.

"I have presented the Deputy First Minister with a mound of broadband complaints that I receive daily in my constituency in the hope that he can get some grasp of the real scale of the problem in rural areas in Wales.

"Constituents have written to me with examples of the problems that they face in accessing broadband - in some cases bandwidths are reported to have dropped to 100kbs or less, some constituents are forced to travel a twenty mile round trip to access a connection, others complain of frequent loss of service while many of my constituents cannot even get a broadband connection at all.

"Broadband access can also have a huge impact on local businesses. Around 99% of all businesses in Wales are small and medium enterprises. In a modern competitive market, our local traders are struggling to survive without good access and availability to broadband. These businesses need a reliable broadband infrastructure if they are to survive, prosper and compete in local, national and global markets.

"Welsh Liberal Democrats demand that the Labour-Plaid Government backs up warm words with strong action to support the delivery broadband to these small and medium businesses, which offer a unique chance to develop local communities and offer a sustainable and local approach to economic development.

"I want the Government to invest in future-proof technology in rural Wales - such as wireless. This investment is essential if we are to solve the remaining challenges of our not spot areas and develop a broadband infrastructure for the future.

"The Assembly Government RIBS scheme has failed to solve our broadband issues in Mid Wales. I hope that the Labour-Plaid Government will listen to the people of rural Wales and develop a new informed contract, backed by sufficient funding, to deliver high bandwidth affordable data communications infrastructure to all homes and businesses."