THE DELIVERY of superfast broadband in Pembrokeshire will not be completed for another 18 months, the head of Superfast Cymru has said.

And so far, there has been a patchy take-up of the service, with only 25 per cent of those enabled in the county signing up so far.

In Carmarthenshire, the figure is currently only 12 per cent.

Superfast Cymru director Ed Hunt revealed the figures and the timescale at a special meeting on Wednesday night which was set up by MP Smon Hart.

Around 80 people attended the meeting in Whitland Memorial Hall, which was also addressed by Alwen Williams, director of BT Wales.

“Broadband, or the lack of it, is the number one consumer issue that residents ask me about,” said Mr Hart. “This was an invitation-only event for people who have contacted me in the past about the problem and for community representatives. I think that the numbers speak for themselves.”

Mr Hunt explained that 500 Kms of fibre optic cabling has been laid in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire as part of BTs scheme to bring superfast (24 mbps and above) to 96% of homes.

“There will be a second sweep around Wales after the initial delivery to get to those properties we fail to reach on the first round,” he explained.

He explained that residents need to check on www.superfast-cymru.com to find out when their nearest cabinet is going to be enabled. If their cabinet has been enabled and their speed is still slow - or if the website says their area is “in scope” - then they may want to explore other methods of getting broadband such as satellite or wireless, with help from a Welsh Assembly grant, he added.

Concerned residents from communities including Summerhill, Llanddowror, Lampeter Velfrey and East Williamston attended the meeting, alongside county councillors, business owners and community council clerks.

Lizzie Lesnianski, clerk to Martletwy Community Council, told the communications chiefs: “The website originally told us that we would have superfast in January 2016, that slipped to June, then December and now there is no date, you just keep moving the goalposts on us.”

Other residents, particularly from Meidrim and Lawrenny, criticised the state of the copper wire infrastructure of existing BT lines.

“We would like to have landlines that work reliably and just 0.5mbps of broadband, but there are constant problems with them, it’s galling that you are concentrating on getting superfast to others when we don’t have a basic service” said one Meidrim resident.

Mr Hart told the meeting: “We are all here not just because we don’t get superfast but also because of confusion about whether we will ever get it and if so, when.”