Teacher Jenny Wells tells of having to cancel many of her online classes due to the issue in Llangwm and can’t complain when problems arise because no-one can get a phone signal (Image: John Myers)
The quaint village of Llangwm, a stone’s throw from Cardiff and Newport, is a world away from the digital age with its poor mobile reception, unreliable , and frequently failing landlines.
Jenny Wells, anonline teacher, moved to the village three years ago, and was assured that connectivity wouldn’t be an issue. However, she said: “But it’s just awful.”
Due to the poor connection, Jenny has had to cancel numerous classes and finds it impossible to report issues due to the lack of phone signal.
This was evident upon our arrival in the rural village this week, where we quickly discovered the locals weren’t exaggerating about the lack of reliable phone signal.
Despite being armed with phone numbers and addresses, we found ourselves unable to make contact with anyone beyond a mile radius of the village without a landline or Wi-Fi.
However, the Wi-Fi is so inconsistent that locals feel entirely isolated, reports .
Jenny said: “When we moved here we were told the lack of a phone signal isn’t too much of an issue because we could get ‘super fast’ fibre-optic broadband and you can apply to the Welsh Government and the installation can be subsidised.”
Read more
Life in the Dark Ages: Llangwm Village Residents Struggle with No Internet or Mobile SignalNestled in the picturesque countryside near Usk, the village of Llangwm seems idyllic at first glancerolling hills, peaceful meadows, and a tight-knit community. But behind the postcard-perfect charm, frustration brews among its residents. In 2024, they are living without basic digital necessities: reliable internet and mobile phone signal. (Image: John Myers)
“We did get it installed after we did the paperwork. But it’s not super fast.
“In fact, it’s shocking. Maybe they should have said: ‘Super fast every other Tuesday.’
“If you go outside and point east and wave a chicken over your head while jumping over a broomstick, maybe you’ll get a connection.”
Jenny, who relocated with her lawyer spouse amidst the pandemic, has voiced her frustration, noting the situation is “actually quite serious” and deems it unacceptable in today’s age.
She said: “It’s not like we’re in the middle of nowhere.
“I can’t do online banking, I can’t pay my bills without it disconnecting, it’s a disaster.
“I’ve had to cancel loads of my lessons because of it.
“And I’ve sometimes had to pick everything up and go to Wetherspoons in Chepstow to work, which is quite inappropriate for my job.”
Don’t miss [REVEAL]
“But the really annoying thing was when my husband’s 88-year-old mother was in hospital and we had no Wi-Fi because it had disconnected, which lasted for days on that occasion.
“So with no phone signal we had no way of knowing anything.
“It happens all the time.”
In their struggle for a reliable internet service, the couple, along with their neighbours, have resorted to signing up with multiple providers.
They said: “We are with Voneus but that connection is very patchy, so we decided to get the BT line installed, but that is really slow as well because they won’t upgrade the exchange. So we’re paying two lots of charges and they’re both bad.”
When asked if she would have reconsidered her house purchase had she known about the connectivity issues, Jenny said: “When we wanted to buy a house a primary question we asked was about connectivity.
“So yes, it would have had an impact on our decision.”
John Brighouse, who moved to the village from Manchester two years ago to be close to his daughter in Usk (Image: John Myers)
Local residents all share their frustrations regarding a particular spot atop a hill in the village where one can only find “patchy” 4G service.
John Brighouse, who relocated from Manchester two years prior to be closer to his daughter in Usk, said: “It’s a lovely place to live other than the ridiculous connection issues. We’re always urged to move towards a digital lifestyle and yet we can’t get it.
“You can’t get in touch with the doctor, you can’t get in touch with the dentist, you can’t even make an appointment at the hairdressers.
“I’m retired, fortunately, but I don’t know how people get on here who are still working.
“It must be a nightmare with all this cutting in and cutting out.”
Further gripes come from John Bowler, a former architect residing in the village for over 30 years, who vocalizes his rising irritation with the subpar connectivity particularly when using streaming services.
He said: “When I’m watching a film on – well, you can’t.
“It’ll cut out halfway through. It’s very frustrating.”
Getting around can be a challenge (Image: John Myers)
John, who suffers from deafness and has faced several heart attacks, depends heavily on emails to stay in touch and eager to convey that often critical medical appointments are missed due to the unreliable network.
Voneus, the internet provider, has admitted that the infrastructure it inherited from the previous provider “did not meet our high standards and we are now investing significantly to upgrade the network.
“We greatly appreciate the community’s patience and understanding while we continue to upgrade the network. We are confident the changes we’re making will result in a stronger, more dependable network for everyone in the community.”
Digital connectivity and telecommunications policy in Wales is under the jurisdiction of the UK Government, not devolved.
The UK Government has set ambitious targets to deliver full fibre broadband to 85% of properties in the UK by 2025 and plans to achieve this in Wales through the gigabit voucher scheme and Project Gigabit.
The Welsh Government has pledged to work closely with the UK Government to ensure the needs of Wales are met through Project Gigabit.
Last month, as part of the project, the UK Government announced a £170m fund to deliver digital infrastructure for 70,000 homes and businesses in Wales. The UK Government has set its sights on achieving full gigabit coverage across the UK, including the most remote parts of Wales, by 2030.
Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, has lambasted the UK’s broadband rollout over the past decade, stating: “Over the past decade, the UK’s broadband rollout has clearly not happened fast enough and has overlooked too many areas, especially in Scotland and Wales. Robust digital infrastructure is essential for growth, productivity and competitiveness and this shortfall not only poses risks to our economic stability, but also entrenches existing inequalities across the country.
“We are fixing this by delivering for hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses up and down the country, focusing on the areas that were not prioritised by the previous government, such as Wales.”
Don’t miss… [NEXT]
Meanwhile, Cllr John Watkins from Llangwm’s village community council highlighted the ongoing struggles with connectivity, he said: “There is no mobile network in the village at all,” and detailed the failed efforts to improve the situation: “It never has worked.
“We were all originally BT but all the copper cables come from Wolvesnewton which is seven kilometres away.
“BT took the government’s money and dug up all the ground around here where they put in all the pipes for fibre-optic connection, but the money ran out and that was the end of that.”
Residents of a rural village are at their wit’s end due to a subpar broadband connection that has resulted in multiple outages, with one homeowner even having to refund holidaymakers who were unable to access the internet.
He said:”For the last two and a half years we’ve had Broadway broadband, which became Voneus.
“They came in and they used the money to put cables in from a ground line which goes onto a microwave dish and it’s microwaved to somewhere else and that’s turned back into a fibre-optic signal which comes around the village.
“So it’s a complicated system – the set up is via mostly above ground cables and you’ll see them as you walk through the village. They’re our link to the world now.
“But they’re often damaged and they cause outages and they’re unreliable. One outage lasted for three or four days and another a couple of days. They were two weeks ago.”
The issue has become so severe that it’s impacting the livelihoods of villagers who work from home, including Cllr Watkins, who teaches at a university and has lost lectures due to the outages. He added: “We’ve written to the new local MP, the Welsh Government, and the CEO of Voneus to express our dissatisfaction.”
Resident Rob Stoodley calls the broadband ‘awful’ (Image: John Myers)
Villager Rob Stoodley has branded the broadband in Llangwm “awful”, expressing his vexation over connectivity issues.
He said: “If you get a problem they say: ‘Give us a call or a text.’ I say: ‘I can’t do that.’ Then they respond: ‘We’ll send an email.’ I say: ‘I won’t get that either.’
“It’s just ridiculous. When you get a storm and the cables are disrupted that’s the end of that. We could be disconnected for days.”
Catherine Fookes, MP for Monmouthshire, shared concerns about digital disconnect: “I know how frustrating it can be if you don’t have a good internet connection or a phone signal it can be incredibly difficult doing all those things we take for granted now like online meetings, streaming TV or making video calls to loved ones.
“I don’t live in an area with fibre either and I know it can be really challenging at times.
“I will take this up by meeting with the villagers, writing to the company concerned and to the minister so we can try and get a big improvement in connectivity for Llangwm.”
A representative for the Welsh Government stated: “Despite telecommunications not being devolved to Wales, due to a lack of investment at UK level over the past decade or more we have used a range of solutions to support those without access to fast and reliable broadband.
“Our partnership with Openreach has delivered full fibre broadband to more than 44,000 homes and businesses across Wales, including 1,817 in Monmouthshire.
“The majority of homes and businesses across Wales have access to good quality digital connectivity, and we are determined to improve digital connectivity further through our Digital Strategy for Wales.”