Vale of Glamorgan Council
Cyngor Bro Morgannwg

Rural Broadband

A large proportion of the rural Vale now has access to broadband speeds of over 30 Mbps thanks to a combination of Welsh Government super-fast roll out and private sector investment.

Whilst this is a great achievement, we understand some residents and businesses have had difficulty gaining access to broadband. This page is designed to provide you with more information on:

 

  • the superfast broadband roll out

  • choosing broadband speeds

  • fibre and the alternatives

You can also visit our pages on:

 

Superfast broadband roll out

The superfast broadband roll out across wales ended in December 2017. 18,581 properties were due to get broadband under this scheme and 86.48% were successfully connected. The take up of broadband has been 49%, the highest of all the local authorities in Wales. Welsh Government are working on a number of number of interventions to deliver super-fast broadband to premises which cannot access it, including a second broadband roll out of which further information should be available in 2019.

 

Choosing a broadband speed

It may be that you don’t need the latest fibre technology, the speeds you need will depend on what you use the internet for. Alternative solutions or lower speed broadband solutions which do not provide the fastest speeds may be adequate for your needs. Use the table to determine what sort of internet speeds you may need and use this guide to determine your package with an Internet Service Provider or alternative broadband solution.

 

 

Description

Speed

Light use

If you’re light touch user, for example checking emails and surfing the web, you don’t need a fast connection.

10mb

Medium Use

If everyday use is your thing and watch a lot of content such as videos or streaming tv or social media, you are likely to need a middle range package

25-70mbps

Heavy use

If you download a lot of music and movies, or watch a lot of online tv, gaming you’ll need an internet package with high Mbps

Over 50 mbps

 

 

Fibre and alternative broadband solutions

Fibre-optic broadband transfers data via a fibre optic cable usually made of glass or plastic rather than the traditional copper wires. This is connected to the cabinet in your street where in most cases a copper cable then runs to your premise. In some cases fibre is run all the way to your premise, although this is less common.

 

A number of different broadband solutions are being used in areas where fibre cannot currently be connected. Make sure you check what speed you need, before picking a solution.

 

  • Mobile Router

    EE have produced a Home router which has generous data caps and is being used now as an alternative solution where fibre cannot be installed.

     

  • Broadband via Mobile Phone Technology

    You can connect to broadband through mobile technology such as a dongle, SIM card in your tablet or laptop or tethering from your mobile phone. This may be a good option for you if you have good phone connectivity such as 4G and you’re not a heavy user of the internet.

     

  • Broadband via Satellite

    You can get broadband via a satellite connection but it should be considered as a last resort – it is slower and more expensive than broadband via mobile phone technology.

     

  • TV White Space

    Some companies are offering solutions using TV white space – harnessing the gaps that is left between radio spectrum in the digital terrestrial TV bands to provide broadband. Although not creating the quickest of connectivity speeds, the technology is less affected by physical barriers such as walls or trees.

     

 

 

What do all the terms mean?

There are a lot of terms we’ve come across when looking at broadband, here’s a glossary of some key terms you may come across when looking into broadband

 

Glossary of Digital Terms