More than half of homes and businesses in Carmarthenshire now have full fibre broadband.

The county, a rural area of Wales, has achieved this significant milestone in its quest for improved broadband access.

This is a substantial increase from the 25 per cent coverage recorded in 2021, with 60 per cent of homes and businesses now able to access full fibre broadband.

This achievement has been no easy task, with many hard-to-reach areas now benefiting from faster and more reliable broadband.

The milestone is the result of successful collaborations led by Carmarthenshire County Council's digital champions.

They have continuously engaged with a variety of stakeholders, including alternative network providers (AltNets)Voneus and WeFibre, mainstream providers such as Openreach, and communities, to ensure they are aware of the benefits of improved connectivity and how they can achieve it.

Councillor Hazel Evans, cabinet member for regeneration, leisure, culture and tourism, said: "This is a huge leap in progress for a county that has many harder to reach areas.

"It’s encouraging to see so many more people now have the improved connectivity needed to ensure that they are able to thrive both socially and economically and I’m confident that we shall take this much further to achieve a fully digital inclusive Carmarthenshire in the future."

The success of this 60 per cent milestone in Carmarthenshire not only offers more social and economic benefits for its residents, but also enables scope for additional inward investment through the adoption of emerging technology in key sectors such as tourism and agriculture.

Simon Davies, head of economic development and property at Carmarthenshire County Council, said: "Making the 60 per cent full fibre milestone in the county is a fantastic achievement and one that wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication of our digital champions as well as the numerous internal departments that work collaboratively to make the plans for better broadband a reality.

"Working closely with the digital infrastructure team, I’m certain that we will be increasing that percentage in the very near future again and ensuring that no one is left behind."

For all enquiries, please contact broadband@carmarthenshire.gov.uk.