A WREXHAM councillor has raised concerns about the quality of internet connection in his village.

With coronavirus forcing more and more people to work from home than usual, the reliance on home internet has never been greater.

Cllr Trevor Bates, who lives in Nantyr near Pandy, described the internet connection in the village as “abysmal”.

He told the Leader: “We had better internet 10 years ago than we have now. I do not know if things have just become more powerful and need more signal, but it is just a black spot here.

“BT is incompetent – they have put a cable into Nantyr but not connected it to the village.

“When you are putting something like that in you should start at the heart of the place and roll it outwards, not start outside and not even join it up. A junior school child would not do it that way.

“I was promised by Openreach that we would have fibre by Christmas – three years ago. We still have no fibre and people despair, to put it bluntly.”

Cllr Bates said the situation has also created problems for residents who are having to work from home, including one household where a couple is having to take turns use the Wi-Fi while also trying to educate their children.

“I have just had my monthly bill from BT for £91,” Cllr Bates continued.

“I am definitely not getting value for money. I have a son in Australia and it has been so bad there have been occasions when we have not been able to FaceTime him.

Cllr Bates had been working with operatives from Wrexham Council prior to the imposed lockdown to help sort the issue of internet connection in the village.

Steve Bayley, chief officer housing and economy at Wrexham Council, said: “We are aware of the problems experienced by those living and working in the Ceiriog Valley and our digital officer has been liaising with the community, local councillor and MP.

“We will continue to look at all the technologies and funding available to improve the situation but this work cannot be fully progressed until the current restrictions due to COVID-19 are relaxed.”

Telecommunications is not devolved to Wales and before the Welsh Government stepped in only around 40 per cent of properties had access to superfast broadband, according to a government spokesman.

The spokesman for Welsh Government added: “We intervened with a public sector investment of more than £200m to roll out superfast broadband and now more than 95 per cent of premises are connected. We have voucher schemes in place to support those that have yet to be connected.

“It is essential that the UK Government looks carefully at places like Pandy and ensures that its recently announced investments in full fibre broadband and mobile connectivity are heavily focussed on Wales."

A spokesperson for Openreach, a sub-section of BT, said: “We know how important connectivity is, particularly right now. More than 95 per cent of Wales can order superfast broadband thanks to Openreach investment and our partnership with the Welsh Government (through the Superfast Cymru programme).

“This is enabling millions of people across the country to work from home, keeping their kids educated and entertained, and connected to families and friends.

“But we also appreciate that a small number of communities, such as Pandy, cannot order decent broadband and we are working alongside the Welsh Government to address that.

“We are continuing to maintain and extend our network in Wales despite the Coronvirus pandemic, and our key worker engineers are doing everything they can to keep communities connected.”

In the last five years, Openreach say the company has made superfast broadband speeds (of 30mbps or higher) available to more than 1.3 million homes and businesses in Wales on the Openreach network, including some of the most rural and isolated parts of the country.

They add that Wales has specific challenges that make fibre deployment harder, such as its geography and population dispersal.

In response to the councillor’s criticism, a BT spokesperson said that the company would be more than happy to look at Mr Bates' account to see whether his current package is right for him.

In relation to the whether the address can order faster broadband, BT continued: “For the very small number of people in rural Wales who do not currently receive broadband speeds above 10Mbps (fewer than three per cent of addresses) BT now operates a new USO (Universal Service Obligation) scheme where eligible homes and businesses can apply for a faster connection. We are working with Ofcom to deliver this UK government legislation.”