PEOPLE living on the Shropshire/Powys border have been experiencing poor broadband “for months”.
That is according to two councillors are are working together to get the situation sorted.
Councillor Heather Kidd (Chirbury and Worthen) and Councillor Danny Webb (Churchstoke) say they have received many complaints from residents on both sides of the Welsh border about an unreliable service, including poor download and upload speeds, and breaks in service.
Both councillors have been tasked to send affected addresses to Voneus, the company responsible for broadband in the region, to see if the situation can be improved.
“We now have an agreement that working cross-border is now to happen,” said Cllr Kidd.
“We have both been asked to send addresses where the service is poor to Voneus. I now have over 50 which stretches from Vennington, Brompton, Priest Weston, Marton, Stoney Stretton, Montgomery, Habberley, Stiperstones, and Pennerley. There are many more in between.
“We all need to have the good reliable service we pay for that is mended quickly when things go wrong.
“Many of these people can be completely cut off as mobile signal is also poor. This really has to change urgently.”
Cllr Bebb added: “I have many residents with similar complaints too, so cross-border working is essential.
“I live in Powys and my signal comes from a mast in Shropshire. I have others near me who get their signals from two other Shropshire masts. It makes no sense to separate us out and divide and rule.
“Working from home is now an essential, not a ‘nice to have’. Even watching TV is now something most expect to be able to do online. Some people also have their main phone line on VoIP with them too.”
A Voneus spokesperson said, “We appreciate the comments and concerns raised by Cllr Kidd and Cllr Bebb. We will increase community communication whilst we complete a number of fibre network builds and network upgrades across Shropshire and Powys.”
