Free Internet Access at Tourist Information Centres accross Carmarthenshire.

Three teams up with Visit Wales to give visitors to Carmarthen and Llandovery TIC more than one hundred and fifty thousand megabytes of mobile Internet  

24 Visit Wales Tourist Information Centres to benefit from scheme to connect holiday-makers

October, 2012: Mobile network Three today teamed up with Visit Wales to give more than one hundred and fifty thousand megabytes of Mobile Internet to tourists visiting the Carmarthenshire region over the next year. The initiative, part of Three’s Rural Broadband Working Group, aims to provide anyone who visits the local Tourist Information Centre in Carmarthen or Llandovery with free Internet access through their smartphone or tablet.   

The aim of the partnership is to allow visitors to search for holiday information in an area where they might not have a connection, or where they would otherwise incur expensive data roaming charges.  Visitors will also be able to keep in contact with their loved ones using email, social networks or other Internet communications services whilst visiting the Tourist Information Centre. 

Three will be providing each Tourist Information Centre with a MiFi device and 15GB of data per month, enough to browse 15,000 web pages, make 60 hours of Skype calls and send around 75,000 emails. The award-winning MiFi devices are enabled with the latest HSPA+ technology, which provides a much faster mobile Internet experience.

‘Pop Up’ Tourist Information Centres will also benefit from the scheme and will now be able to connect their iPad/laptop via the MiFi device when out and about on foot at local events, bringing the benefits of the internet to visitors direct.

Manager of Carmarthen TIC, Lowri Jones, said:

“Thanks to this initiative our experienced and locally knowledgeable staff will be able to help inspire visitors by directing them to online films of local attractions, as well as helping them find information on a wider range of topics, such as downloadable walks and maps. 

Carmarthen TIC also has an iPad so they can show the visitors from their own devices. This project fits well alongside the wider initiatives being run by the Welsh Government to help connect up the remotest parts of rural Wales.

Three’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Hugh Davies said: “We have built a network designed for the Internet and are passionate about using this to help as many people as possible experience the everyday benefits this can bring.   All of us are now so reliant on our smartphones we want to be able to do the things we love to do wherever we are, even when we’re on holiday.”

Welsh Government

The Welsh Government understands the importance of internet connectivity to Wales. In June the First Minister announced a deal to upgrade the fixed internet network for 96% of properties by 2015. Further information on this can be found here: http://wales.gov.uk/newsroom/firstminister/2012/6445517/?lang=en

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Bydd modd i ymwelwyr ddefnyddio cyfleusterau e-bost, safleoedd rhwydweithio cymdeithasol a gwasanaethau eraill sydd ar y we, yn rhad ac am ddim, dan brosiect gan Lywodraeth Cymru.

Mae Croeso Cymru a’r darparwr rhwydwaith, Three, wedi dod ynghyd i ddarparu mynediad i’r rhyngrwyd, yn rhad ac am ddim, yn y canolfannau.

Nod y bartneriaeth yw galluogi ymwelwyr i chwilio am wybodaeth yn ymwneud â gwyliau mewn ardal lle nad oes ganddynt efallai gysylltiad rhyngrwyd neu lle byddent yn  gorfod talu’n ddrud am drawsrwydweithio, oni bai am hyn.