The Welsh Liberal Democrat Group in the Welsh Assembly had a confidential briefing with British Telecom last week on their plans to extend high speed broadband access across Wales.
During the course of that meeting we learnt that there can be a huge cost to getting even basic broadband provision to isolated communities across Wales. I do not think though that any of us thought that it could get this expensive:
British Telecom has been accused by a businessman of being unfair to rural areas after quoting more than £56,000 to install broadband at his farmhouse.
Tony Simkin, of Beulah, Ceredigion, who has a jewellers in Somerset, wanted to file his VAT returns online.
But he put his plans on hold when he says he was quoted £56,693.
BT disputed the figure, and said it was more like £47,000, which reflected the extra work needed to provide broadband where there was no spare capacity.
He asked BT for a quote for broadband. The company replied, saying it would cost £48,250, plus VAT of £8,443.
BT told Mr Simkin a new line was needed because his present telephone line was shared (the technical term is DACS) with an unmanned water pumping station across the road from his house.
Mr Simkin, whose business is in Street, Somerset, said: “What I find particularly galling is that I understand that if it were not for my shared line I would now be connected to the internet just like the two neighbouring farms, which are within 400 yards of my house.
“BT never asked me to share the line with the pumping station – in fact I did not know I was on a shared line until I asked to be connected to the internet.
“Yet now I am being asked to pay over £50,000 because of BT’s action in extending my telephone line to this water pumping station.”
He added: “I believe it is grossly unfair of BT to ignore people in rural areas so that they can maximise their profits in cities and well populated areas.”
Frankly, even the amount that BT say that they quoted Mr. Simkin of £40,000 plus VAT is extortionate. I appreciate that there is a capital cost but if we are to encourage the growth of small and medium enterprises in rural Wales then we have to find solutions that avoid these sort of costs to get what has now become a basic service into remote areas.
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