Broadband availability for rural businesses in Wales is crucial economically and socially, a forum on the Superfast Cymru Wales project at the Farmers' Union of Wales pavilion during next week's Royal Welsh Show will be told.
The forum (on Wednesday July 23 at 11am) will hear details of the £425 million Superfast Cymru Wales project - a partnership between the Welsh Government and BT with private and EU funding.
One of the speakers, FUW director of agricultural policy Nick Fenwick, said: "Increasing broadband availability to rural businesses in Wales is of critical importance, economically and socially.
"With Rural Payments Online planning to roll out a host of services over coming months and years, including the option to complete Single Application Forms on-line in 2014, any moves which increase broadband availability and quality are welcome.
"While using this type of service will be a steep learning curve for many, we know from our experience with BCMS/CTS Online that people rarely go back to paper once they've realised the advantages which come with such services - for example, in terms of the extent to which errors can be reduced."
BT revealed that under the Superfast Cymru programme, Wales is set to become a global leader in fibre broadband. Using public and private funds, it will deliver fibre broadband to parts of the country not already covered by the existing commercial plans of operators.
Fibre broadband will be of particular benefit to the tens of thousands of local businesses scattered throughout rural Wales because it will provide speeds approximately 15 times faster than those already available. It will enable them to diversify their business, sell to new markets and carry out a much broader range of work online.
Another speaker at the seminar, BT programme director Ed Hunt, said: “We are serious about making fibre broadband available to even the most rural parts of Wales.
"Our engineers are hard at work in places like Abersoch, Criccieth and Dinas Mawddwy and we look forward to telling local people when they’ll be able to access high-speed broadband services as a result of this project.
"Already underway, Superfast Cymru is part of the Welsh Government’s commitment to seek to ensure that all premises across Wales will have access to next generation broadband.
"It will build on BT’s existing investment with the aim being that 96 per cent of Welsh homes and businesses will be able to benefit from world class broadband speeds of up to 80Mbps by 2016. The initiative will take the total amount invested in Welsh fibre broadband to around £425m.
"Superfast Cymru is already helping to transform the broadband landscape in Wales and boost the Welsh economy. Businesses and residents in several areas are already connected, and the roll-out will be underway in all unitary authorities during 2014/15."