Wrexham village 'joins 21st century' with high speed broadband

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Media caption,

Lockdown with poor internet

Villagers say they have finally been brought "into the 21st Century" after being linked to high-speed broadband.

For years Pandy residents have had to put up with internet speeds of about 1MB per second, limited mobile phone signal and no 4G.

Now after campaigning for improved communication, half of the village in Wrexham county are connected.

Villager Alison Bendall said: "Words can't express really how wonderful it is to finally be connected."

Previously she struggled to video call grandchildren in England, but now has speeds of more than 400MB per second.

"Although a lot of the village are not connected yet it is literally days away."

Connection was made possible after residents got together under a Community Fibre Partnership scheme, which can be topped up by government funding to cover connection costs.

Villagers estimate half of the properties now have - or are able to order - fibre-optic broadband. It is hoped the remainder will be able to connect within weeks.

Image caption,

Villager Alison Bendall said it was "wonderful" to be connected

Openreach's Connie Dixon told BBC's X-Ray said: "Now, more than ever, good connectivity is essential for communities up and down the country.

"Pandy was a complicated build for our engineers but demonstrates how Openreach are committed to bringing full fibre connectivity to every part of Wales."