Powys is to receive a broadband boost as the Government seeks to improve coverage in hard-to-reach areas of the UK.

A record £5 billion of spending will go into improving connections, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced in the Budget on Wednesday.

Gigabit-capable broadband, which is 40 times faster than standard superfast broadband, will be rolled out to the hardest to reach 20 per cent of the country which includes Powys.

Rolling out the service to the most remote areas will help to support businesses to succeed, boosting productivity and making people’s lives easier at home and at work.

The Chancellor also announced, alongside the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, that the government has signed a £1 billion deal with the mobile phone industry that will see poor and patchy mobile coverage improved.

It will see the big four mobile operators – EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three – share access to their masts.

Ahead of the announcement, Brecon and Radnorshire MP Fay Jones quizzed Prime Minister Boris Johnson on whether Mid Wales would be included in the agreement.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, she asked: “Rural areas like my constituency Brecon and Radnorshire are at the bottom of the pile when it comes to broadband connectivity and mobile signal.

“Can the Prime Minister confirm that this government’s £1 billion deal with mobile phone providers will boost 4G across the country, including Mid Wales?”

Mr Johnson replied that Mid Wales would be covered by the deal.

Confirmation of the agreement reached between the Government and all four mobile network operators has been welcomed by Montgomeryshire AM Russell George.

He says the agreement is a boost for the communities in North Powys which have been without adequate reception.

The Shared Rural Network proposal will be delivered by focusing on eliminating virtually all partial not-spots where there is coverage from one or more operators.

Mr George said: “I welcome the UK Conservative Government’s announcement that it has reached agreement with all four mobile network operators to deliver a Shared Rural Network which will demonstrably improve coverage for residents and visitors in Powys.

“This positive £1 billion announcement will see 4G mobile coverage extended to 95 per cent of the UK’s landmass including many rural communities within North Powys which have thus far been without adequate mobile phone reception and will be made possible by all four mobile network operators sharing each other’s infrastructure.

“To facilitate this Shared Rural Network, we will need to see flexibility from the Welsh Government when it comes to planning policy and Permitted Development Rights which will help prepare for 4G and 5G deployment and speed up the process for new mobile phone masts as long as they are in appropriate locations.”

At the same time Mobile operator EE says 4G coverage in rural Wales is at record levels.

It has switched on nine new 4G sites in Brecon and Radnorshire since 2017, and one in Montgomeryshire, with 13 and two new sites planned respectively.