Cisco boss: Welsh businesses struggling due to broadband speeds

Businesses are struggling under the poor broadband service being offered in parts of Wales, the chief executive of IT company Cisco has said.

Phil Smith has compared the situation in some areas of Wales to that of not having automatic access to water or adequate transport links such as a road network. As a result, Mr Smith has raised concerns that many businesses in Wales will not be able to survive without a reliable and fast broadband connection.

In an interview with BBC Wales at technology conference Digital 2016, Mr Smith commented: "I'm very surprised that broadband hasn't got to the level of penetration it should. To be honest, it's like saying you don't have a road now, or you don't have water.

"Companies, countries and individuals can't survive without broadband; it's not some optional nice thing to have; this is the way business is done."

However, the Welsh government insisted the country was leading the way in offering superfast broadband in the UK. This, it said, was thanks to its Superfast Cymru programme — a partnership between the Welsh government and BT, which aims to provide people with access to fibre optic broadband.

Recently, the project released a statement saying that more than 80 per cent of properties had access to superfast broadband and a spokesperson for the Welsh government announced that an Ofcom report released last August showed that Wales was leading the way among the UK's devolved nations for the superfast broadband.

The spokesperson added: "The Superfast Cymru programme has already made superfast broadband speeds in excess of 24Mbps available to more than 581,000 Welsh homes and businesses, including in some very rural areas, and more premises will have access as the rollout continues."

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