MORE than 7,000 properties in Conwy will get a superfast internet connection as part of a national rollout of full-fibre broadband.

About 7,309 properties in the Aberconwy area will receive full-fibre broadband, which can provide download speeds of 1 Gbps or up to 10 times faster than the average home broadband connection.

The specific timings of the Welsh Government and Openreach roll-out are currently pending, though the figure is in addition to existing coverage or planned build from other Openreach programmes, Community Fibre Partnerships and funded programmes.

It comes after more than 3,000 homes in the Clwyd West area were confirmed last week.

The new locations are part of an Openreach project to make the new technology available to 3.2 million premises in the UK’s hardest-to-reach ‘final third’. Due to the size of the build, some places will see work continue into 2024.

The move will also contribute to creating a total of 7,000 new jobs across Openreach and their broader supply chain.

It forms part of a £12 billion investment by Openreach to build ‘Full Fibre’ iv infrastructure to 20 million premises throughout the UK by the mid-to-late 2020s.

Janet Finch-Saunders, MS for Aberconwy, said: “A fast and reliable broadband connection has become an everyday necessity, especially in the past year. As working from home becomes a trend that shows no sign of abating, I welcome the news that Openreach are doubling down on investment to connect a further 7,309 premises across the constituency.

“This announcement will confront the startling fact that 66 per cent of recent survey respondents stated they had been impacted by poor broadband. The digital divide continues to have a lasting impact on the success and well-being of our rural communities, so I will be watching this roll-out closely.

“As industry officials have made plain in our continued discussions on the matter, delivering upgraded connectivity to hard-to-reach locations is often a major engineering challenge with high costs. Despite this, I remain committed to finding a solution that delivers parity of access between our rural and urban communities.”