Digital divide

Today was a washout. Low cloud and rain which didn't stop until after lunch. We drove into Aberteifi in search of connectivity, so that I could upload previous days' blog postings and photos. The streets were busy with traffic and damp people looking for something to do, as the weather ruled out that hoped for day on the beach.

The town library offered wi-fi, but the service was so congested and slow that it wouldn't recognise the password given. When we queried this with the librarian, she gave us another password, explaining that it was changed twice a day, but she wasn't quite sure when the switch took place. So, for a while longer I tried each in turn, without success. Too big a demand for the capacity of the network. Evidence, if it was needed of what rural communities, even market towns, have to put up with. With hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers visiting Wales' coast and countryside, the need for reliable connectivity is just as urgent here as it is in the cities, but WAG prioritises urban areas for fast broadband roll-out and dares to crow about it. This merely increases the digital divide, and is an own goal for one of Wales' key economic drivers - tourism.

I tried raising BT Openzone on my Blackberry in the library but the signal was weak and erratic - it's a thick walled building - outside in the street it kept nagging me to log on. We went into a nice Italian deli / cafe for lunch. Here, while we were waiting to be served, I took out my laptop, found a BT Openzone wi-fi signal and logged on. Within minutes I'd uploaded two blog postings and seven pictures prepared to accompany them. Compared to our home internet connection, the upload speed was jaw dropping, and by the time I'd finished, lunch was on the table. Despite the moans I've had about BT services in the past, the recent rollout of fast wi-fi broadband is very much to their credit. It costs, of course and is worth paying for if you need it. Imagine what it could do for the economy of a town or a region to make that available free to subscribers!

By mid afternoon, the rain stopped and the sun appeared, so we walked over the Teifi bridge and followed the riverside path upstream to the Cilgerran wetlands nature reserve just beyond the town. We walked the full circuit, stopping for tea at the excellent wildlife centre half way. Several times we had an encounter with one of the local herons, but only on the last occasion was I ready with my camera.

After supper we walked down to road towards Ceibwr beach. Too tired to go all the way after our early walk, we dallied near the place where the coast path branches from the road to follow the cliffs, and watched the sun set through an interestingly cloudy sky. Compensation for the misery of the morning.