A rural Monmouthshire community has become the first in Wales to team up with Europe’s founding satellite broadband provider.
The volunteer-led Trading Post at The Bryn, near Abergavenny, was chosen by UK based Avanti Communications to benefit from its expertise in connecting rural broadband ‘not-spots’.
And in a further boost, the high-speed satellite broadband system has been supplied free of charge thanks to the help of Monmouth MP David Davies.
“I’m tremendously excited about this,” said Mr Davies, who spent a morning volunteering behind the counter at The Bryn Trading Post and community post office before officially switching on the new service.
“There are too many people in Wales who cannot get any level of reliable internet connection and satellite broadband offers an easy solution. Although slightly more expensive than fixed-line incumbents, it should be possible to recuperate the installation costs via the Welsh Government’s Broadband Support Scheme.
“Avanti has a proven track record in delivering rural broadband all over Europe and I was delighted when the company offered to install satellite broadband for free at The Bryn Trading Post in order to demonstrate its efficacy. Indeed, satellite broadband is a sure-fire way of ensuring every household in Wales has access to vital digital services.
“As Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee, I have been leading a parliamentary inquiry into broadband in Wales. We will shortly be publishing our report, which will explain in greater detail what we think is the way forward. I firmly believe providing everyone with a broadband connection is perfectly achievable and highly desirable."
Volunteers at The Bryn Trading Post, a not for profit venture set up and run by local people, will use their new community broadband to do everything from taxing cars online to help improve family access for the village’s elderly residents.
Christian Brown, Vice Chair of The Bryn Trading Post and Chair of Llanover Community Council, said: “We are incredibly lucky that our MP has been conducting a review into local broadband and championing broadband provision in Monmouthshire.
“He was therefore able to arrange a meeting with Avanti for me and once I explained we are a community enterprise they not only installed the system within three days but provided the system for free.
“I see on a daily basis all the problems of being without broadband and I know this satellite broadband will bring great benefits to the community and local residents. This is particularly true in rural areas like Llanover, which at present has little broadband coverage.
“The new service is a great way to celebrate our fifth successful year of trading here at The Bryn Trading Post.""
Avanti is the first company in Europe to build, launch and deploy a broadband satellite and provides 100 per cent coverage of the UK at speeds of up to 10Mbps.
Steven Ritchie, Avanti’s UK Sales Manager, added: “The installation at The Bryn demonstrates that our satellite broadband services can be deployed far more quickly than terrestrial broadband services anywhere in Wales.
“There is no reason at all why anybody in Wales should be without broadband."