Home of the Raspberry Pi gears up for Ogi’s ultrafast full fibre broadband

Wales’s leading alternative network provider – Ogi – has today revealed plans to extend its full fibre network across more of Bridgend county, in another multimillion pound boost for the region.

Joining the towns of Maesteg and Porthcawl, today’s announcement adds Pencoed to the provider’s local network, with work already underway in the town.

Home to the Sony UK Technology Centre, where the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s microcomputer is produced, Pencoed staddles the M4 north of Bridgend town centre. Contributing to the thriving community of technology and innovation-focused businesses that Pencoed has seen in recent years, the popular Raspberry Pi personal computers offers an entry-level way for people to learn digital skills and to do something useful and fun at the same time.

Bringing Ogi’s full fibre network to the region will help propel the thriving local technology sector into the future, offering ultrafast and ultra-reliable connectivity, as well as core business solutions like IT managed services and telephony products from one service provider for the very first time.

The bespoke network will be available to local households too. With average download speeds peaking at around 69Mbps for homes in the area according to the Fair Internet Report, Ogi’s full fibre network is set to start people off at more than double that speed, with the providers entry level package starting at 150Mbps.

Speeds like this means popular video games like Grand Turismo 7 can be downloaded in minutes compared to hours*, with users also able to experience greater clarity when streaming 4K films and binge-worthy boxsets.

Ogi propelled onto the scene with an ambitious multimillion-pound plan back in 2021 and since then has grown ten-fold; employing more than 190 staff locally and supporting hundreds of local jobs through its supply chain and four principal contractors.

Residential customers signing up continue to take advantage of the provider’s cost-of-living busting six months free deal, saving hundreds of pounds on their household bills at the start of their contract.

Commenting on the announcement, Ogi’s Chief Executive Officer, Ben Allwright, said: “The big data age has arrived in Wales, and fast, dependable connectivity has never been more important. As we look to work in more flexible and hybrid ways, reliable connectivity is vital, and this digital upgrade in Pencoed will lay new foundations for Wales’s tech sector to thrive today, and long into the future.

“Our homes and businesses continue to get smarter, and with the cost-of-living crisis affecting everything we do, we’re seeing more and more people looking to improve the quality of their connectivity for work, life and entertainment.

Existing Ogi customer, Damon Rands, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of PureCyber, added: “A great internet connection is vital. As soon as we lose that connection, we lose connectivity to our clients as well.

“Good connectivity that we can rely on are a must these days, and a full fibre connection is the bedrock to all of this. As we store and access more and more information in the cloud, the reliability of that broadband connection is a business lifeline. What Ogi are delivering for Wales is needed today, and will be even more so in the future.”

This latest milestone brings access to the new full fibre technology closer than ever to people in Pencoed. The Nokia-powered active cabinet contains the tech behind the Gigabit-capable network, with the potential to provide ultrafast broadband – that’s 150Mbps or higher – to more than 10,000 homes and businesses in the area when switched on later this year.

*Speed comparison: Gran Turismo 7 takes 27minutes to download over the Ogi full fibre network (FTTP), compared to 4 hours 17 minutes on a Superfast (FTTC) 51.48Mbps connection.