WIREDGOV

An organic dairy in rural Pembrokeshire is benefiting from superfast broadband thanks to Superfast Cymru.

Daioni in Boncath produces organic fresh milk, long-life organic milk, flavoured milk and organic cream.  Its products are sold throughout the UK and all around the world, including mainland China, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.  

Since the spring of 2015 Daioni has been able to benefit from faster internet speeds made possible by Superfast Cymru  - a partnership between the Welsh Government and BT, with additional funding from Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).  

Superfast Cymru is bringing superfast broadband speeds to areas which would otherwise not receive it.  Whole counties, such as Gwynedd, Anglesey, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and others would have no superfast broadband without the scheme as private companies decided it wasn’t commercially viable for them alone to roll-out fibre in these area.

Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology Julie James visited the dairy to hear first hand about the difference the faster internet speeds have made.  
           
Laurence Harris, founder and director of Daioni, said:

“Farmers work mainly outside, and are fairly notorious at being impatient at working inside.  High speed internet certainly helps with this.”

“The increased speed also means that we are in a better position to shop around for supplies and compare prices online.  Additionally, it has provided quick access to independent research and advice for particular problems that arise during the farming year.

“On the Daioni business front, real benefits we’ve seen since taking up superfast broadband include increased employee productivity.  Time spent waiting to receive and load emails has been cut in half. Businesses in the Far East expect virtually immediate responses to their emails, a key element in building strong relationships.

“Increased download speeds for files have also meant that employees can maximise their workload in a day.”

Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology Julie James said:

“It has been great to visit Daioni and hear about the difference superfast broadband has made for them.  

“This is a business in a very rural area, which can benefit from superfast broadband thanks to Superfast Cymru.  It’s important to remember that, like many other counties in Wales, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion would not have any superfast broadband without the intervention of Superfast Cymru and it is good to see the impact it is having.  The project is bringing superfast broadband to areas which would otherwise not receive it.

“Bringing superfast broadband across Wales is not an easy task and Superfast Cymru is without doubt a challenging and ambitious programme.  But it is paying off with almost 550,000 in all parts of Wales now able to access it as a result.”  

Alwen Williams, Director for BT Cymru / Wales, said:

“Superfast broadband is having a huge impact on the way we live our lives in Wales.

“As proven by companies like Daioni, having access to superfast broadband helps business to move, act and trade more quickly and effectively. With fast broadband, businesses are no longer limited geographically to their local markets. International markets are a reality.

“When combined with BT’s commercial roll-out we’ve already provided more than 1.24m Welsh homes and businesses with access to high-speed fibre broadband and we look forward to working with our partners to extend this even further across the country.

“As we continue to build the infrastructure we would urge people to take advantage of this technology and sign up with a broadband service provider.”

The regulator Ofcom recognised that Wales has the highest availability of superfast broadband of any of the devolved nations.

The Superfast Cymru programme is a huge undertaking that will involve laying 17,500kms of optical fibre cable, installing around 3,000 new green roadside cabinets and sees, on average, more than 100 premises getting access to superfast broadband across Wales every hour.