English: Urgent action is needed to ensure that no community, no business and no household is left behind to prevent inequality. A Women's Institute survey found that over 50 per cent of respondents from a rural area did not feel that their internet was fast and reliable, and 66 per cent stated that they or their household had been impacted by poor broadband. They had difficulties in obtaining information, contacting providers and knowing what funding is available. So, we need to make every contact count, perhaps adding it to the cost-of-living grant support available. Service providers need to play their role and commit to improving communication with their customers about the services available, accessing social tariffs. Going forward, for broadband infrastructure to be cost effective, it will need to be designed comprehensively, with long-term benefits in mind that serve everyone, including those in rural areas. In Liverpool, a joint venture project has been championed by Liverpool city metro mayor, Steve Rotheram. This partnership means that public investment gives the authority a stake in the organisation, and in turn, rather than profitability being the only concern, social benefit is also at the heart of the broadband project. And the public can continue to reap the benefits for years to come. Such a joint venture project would be in the interests of the Welsh public. So, it would be good if officials and Ministers would be willing to investigate such an option to dynamically drive forward digital connectivity in north Wales and the rest of Wales, which is currently happening on a very piecemeal, very slow, basis. Given the various statements in the report on digital connectivity stressing that the solutions required to bridge the digital divide between rural and urban areas require a mix of fixed and fibre wireless access, it's pleasing that the Welsh Government has had the foresight to support the Bangor University digital signal processing initiative to provide such a hybrid solution on Anglesey, and I hope that this will be successfully rolled out. A member of the consortium was told by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport - the UK Government department - that it would be another two years before north Wales would see any investment, as other areas were a priority for the UK Government's £5 billion infrastructure fund. So, we need to keep pushing for it to happen now, and for it to happen in Wales, and not make it a low priority for the UK Government. Could the Minister please reinforce the Government's desire to push the initiative forward in Anglesey to the delivery phase as soon as possible? It reflects the most up-to-date thinking in terms of the solutions required to provide digital connectivity and services to the most challenging rural locations, so that it could be rolled out across Wales - north and mid Wales. In addition, can we ensure that we utilise to the maximum any existing fibre and mass platforms to minimise the cost of deployment, and so avoiding the unnecessary risk of funding duplicate infrastructure, with the aim of providing an open access network platform for any carrier to provide services to our rural communities? I'm told that there is dark fibre openly available that is Welsh Government owned and was installed with European funding a while ago, and that not all providers are using or promoting this - or may be aware of it, preferring to draw down more public funding to install their network. That needs investigating. With more reliance on online communication for health, employment, business grants and education, we need more decent broadband connectivity for people. And I agree that it should be recognised as an essential service. Thank you.
Welsh: Mae angen cymryd camau brys i sicrhau nad oes unrhyw gymuned, unrhyw fusnes nac unrhyw gartref yn cael eu gadael ar ôl er mwyn atal anghydraddoldeb. Canfu arolwg gan Sefydliad y Merched nad oedd dros 50 y cant o ymatebwyr mewn ardal wledig yn teimlo bod eu rhyngrwyd yn gyflym ac yn ddibynadwy, a dywedodd 66 y cant eu bod hwy neu eu haelwyd wedi cael eu heffeithio gan fand eang gwael. Roeddent yn cael anhawster i gael gafael ar wybodaeth, cysylltu â darparwyr a gwybod pa gyllid sydd ar gael. Felly, mae angen inni wneud i bob cysylltiad gyfrif, a'i ychwanegu, efallai, at y cymorth grant sydd ar gael ar gyfer costau byw. Mae angen i ddarparwyr gwasanaethau chwarae eu rhan ac ymrwymo i wella cyfathrebu â'u cwsmeriaid ynglŷn â'r gwasanaethau sydd ar gael, a chael mynediad at dariffau cymdeithasol. Wrth symud ymlaen, er mwyn i seilwaith band eang fod yn gosteffeithiol, bydd angen iddo gael ei lunio mewn ffordd gynhwysfawr, gyda manteision hirdymor mewn golwg sy'n gwasanaethu pawb, gan gynnwys y rheini mewn ardaloedd gwledig. Yn Lerpwl, ceir prosiect menter ar y cyd sydd wedi'i hyrwyddo gan faer metro dinas Lerpwl, Steve Rotheram. Golyga'r bartneriaeth hon fod buddsoddiad cyhoeddus yn rhoi cyfran i'r awdurdod yn y sefydliad, ac yn sgil hynny, yn hytrach na bod elw yn unig ystyriaeth, mae budd cymdeithasol hefyd yn ganolog i'r prosiect band eang. A gall y cyhoedd barhau i elwa ar y buddion am flynyddoedd i ddod. Byddai prosiect menter ar y cyd o'r fath o fudd i'r cyhoedd yng Nghymru. Felly, byddai'n dda pe bai swyddogion a Gweinidogion yn fodlon ymchwilio i opsiwn o'r fath er mwyn hybu cysylltedd digidol yn ddynamig yn y gogledd a gweddill Cymru, fel sy'n digwydd ar sail dameidiog iawn ac yn araf iawn ar hyn o bryd. O ystyried yr amryw ddatganiadau yn yr adroddiad ar gysylltedd digidol sy'n pwysleisio bod yr atebion sydd eu hangen i bontio'r gagendor digidol rhwng ardaloedd gwledig a threfol yn galw am gymysgedd o fynediad di-wifr sefydlog a ffeibr, mae'n braf fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi bod yn ddigon blaengar i gefnogi menter prosesu signalau digidol Prifysgol Bangor i ddarparu ateb hybrid o'r fath ar Ynys Môn, ac rwy'n gobeithio y caiff hyn ei gyflwyno'n llwyddiannus. Dywedwyd wrth aelod o'r consortiwm gan yr Adran dros Dechnoleg Ddigidol, Diwylliant, y Cyfryngau a Chwaraeon - adran Llywodraeth y DU - na fyddai'r gogledd yn cael unrhyw fuddsoddiad am ddwy flynedd arall, gan fod ardaloedd eraill wedi'u blaenoriaethu ar gyfer cyllid cronfa seilwaith £5 biliwn Llywodraeth y DU. Felly, mae angen inni barhau i wthio i hynny ddigwydd ar unwaith, ac iddo ddigwydd yng Nghymru, a pheidio â'i wneud yn flaenoriaeth isel i Lywodraeth y DU. A wnaiff y Gweinidog atgyfnerthu awydd y Llywodraeth i wthio'r fenter ar Ynys Môn ymlaen i'r cyfnod cyflwyno cyn gynted â phosibl? Mae'n adlewyrchu'r syniadau mwyaf diweddar o ran yr atebion sydd eu hangen i ddarparu cysylltedd a gwasanaethau digidol i'r lleoliadau gwledig mwyaf heriol, fel y gellid eu cyflwyno ledled Cymru - y gogledd a'r canolbarth. Yn ogystal, a gawn ni sicrhau ein bod yn gwneud y mwyaf o unrhyw lwyfannau ffeibr a thorfol presennol i leihau costau darparu, ac felly osgoi'r perygl diangen o ariannu seilwaith dyblyg, gyda'r nod o ddarparu llwyfan rhwydwaith mynediad agored i unrhyw ddarparwr ddarparu gwasanaethau i'n cymunedau gwledig? Dywedir wrthyf fod ffeibr tywyll ar gael yn agored sy'n eiddo i Lywodraeth Cymru ac a osodwyd gyda chyllid Ewropeaidd beth amser yn ôl, ac nad yw pob darparwr yn ei ddefnyddio neu'n ei hyrwyddo - neu efallai nad ydynt yn ymwybodol ohono, gan ffafrio defnyddio mwy o gyllid cyhoeddus i osod eu rhwydwaith. Mae angen ymchwilio i hynny. Gyda mwy o ddibyniaeth ar gyfathrebu ar-lein ar gyfer iechyd, cyflogaeth, grantiau busnes ac addysg, mae arnom angen mwy o gysylltedd band eang digonol i bobl. Ac rwy'n cytuno y dylid ei gydnabod fel gwasanaeth hanfodol. Diolch.