ST DAVIDS PHASE II COMPLETE
Tuesday 03 Apr 2012 [10:49]
Britain's Smallest City Gets Broadband
The first phase of the Treleddyd Fawr Community Broadband Project brought broadband to the historic area of St Davids, with many local residents, businesses, remote farms and even the nearby RNLI station now receiving speeds upwards of 5mbps. The second phase has now been completed by TFL Group. The Pembrokeshire based wireless broadband supplier has added over 30 new connections to what is thought to be the first large-scale project of its kind.
TFL is the only communications provider in Wales to own its own wireless communications tower network, which they further expanded last year to enable phase I of this project. Additional infrastructure was installed recently, near St Davids Cathedral, to facilitate phase II.
Prior to this even basic telephony systems were problematic, with many residents feeling that BT had stopped trying to improve the service they receive. It seemed that the possibility of broadband in Britain's smallest city was decades away, but with help from the Welsh Assembly's Broadband Support Scheme, the area now has speeds only previously available in larger town and city centres.
An added benefit is that users may also now replace their poor quality BT lines with free IP (internet protocol) telephony services - resulting in a significant improvement for both internet and traditional telephone services in a single package.
"The far west of Pembrokeshire has suffered for years with poor telephone services, with the nearest telephone exchange in Solva being a massive 17km away," said John Warren, co-ordinator of the Treleddyd Fawr Community Broadband Project.
"BT effectively gave up on us a long time ago, and so the onus has been very much on us to come together as a community and solve our own access problems. Realistically, wireless delivery with the support of the Welsh Assembly's Broadband Support scheme is the only viable option," he added.
TFL Group are at the forefront of bringing broadband to many remote communities, with many other projects already underway.
About TFL
Established in 1983, TFL Group is firmly at the forefront of wireless communication provision in Wales. The company offers a portfolio of services ranging from professional 2-way radio communication systems through to wireless broadband delivery and wireless local area network (WLAN) design and installation.
With clients including petrochemical companies, local authorities, emergency planning units, construction, engineering and security businesses, TFL is the only communications business in Wales to own and manage its own communications tower infrastructure.
The company is based at 66 Honeyborough Business Park, Neyland, Pembrokeshire SA73 1SE,
tel: 01646 601411.
|