Member of the Senedd for Monmouth, Peter Fox, has asked the Welsh Government for action to ensure the rollout of ultrafast broadband will reach all communities in Monmouthshire.

Following the recent publication of data, it showed that 93per cent of Monmouthshire had access to Superfast broadband, with 77.63per cent accessing Ultrafast.

The data also revealed that 6.4per cent of the constituency, or around 6,000 people still had speeds of less than 30Mbps, with 1.5per cent experiencing speeds of less than 2Mbps.

In his question to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Mr Fox put forward the statistics for Monmouthshire, and pressed the need for action to ensure rural communities were not kept at a disadvantage with lower speeds.

Mr Fox asked the Welsh Government for specific action to ensure that Ultrafast Broadband will reach the most rural and isolated communities in Monmouthshire.

Local MS for Monmouth, Peter Fox, has said: “Broadband is now an essential in life, and the need for faster and faster speeds is becoming more prevalent. I saw a sharp increase in queries from residents about accessing faster internet during the pandemic, when people were forced to work from home.

“We continue to see a disparity in Wales where the cities and highly populated areas get access to these speeds first, but the rural communities of Wales, especially in Monmouthshire continue to be left out.

“A lot of these communities already feel cut off from the rest of their area, whether it be due to a lack of amenities, poor public transport, or indeed slower internet speeds.

“The Welsh Government must take action to ensure that no part of Wales, especially our rural communities are left behind when it comes to accessing Ultrafast Broadband.”