Welsh grants help
A plain-English guide to Access Broadband Cymru, for farms, homes and businesses in Wales that cannot get a decent line. The official rules always win.
Cymraeg — crynodeb
Mae cynllun grant Access Broadband Cymru Llywodraeth Cymru yn cynnig hyd at £800 i safleoedd yng Nghymru na allant gael cysylltiad o leiaf 30 Mbps. Rhaid i berchennog y safle wneud y cais; ni all gosodwr wneud cais ar eich rhan. Darllenwch y canllaw swyddogol ar GOV.WALES cyn gwneud unrhyw gais. Gall yr uchafswm a’r rheolau newid.
What the scheme is
Access Broadband Cymru (ABC) is a Welsh Government grant to help fund a broadband connection for premises in Wales that cannot achieve a download speed of at least 30 Mbps by other means. The official guidance, which we checked as a live GOV.WALES page in November 2026, is here:
Access Broadband Cymru Grant scheme: guidance on GOV.WALES
According to that guidance at the time we checked it, funding of up to £800 per premises was available, split between equipment (£550) and installation costs (£250). The Welsh Government states that it can close or change the scheme, the amounts and the eligibility rules at any time. Treat every figure on this page as a signpost, not a promise, and read the live official page before you apply.
Who it is aimed at
The published criteria include all of the following, among other conditions: the premises must be in Wales; it must not already be able to get a 30 Mbps service from any provider; it must have a unique property reference number (UPRN); and it must not have had certain other public broadband funding, including ABC in the previous 48 months. Check current speed availability with Ofcom’s broadband coverage checker. You may also want findmyaddress.co.uk for UPRN details, as linked from the official guidance.
You have to apply yourself
Official guidance says applications must be made by the premises owner (or with the owner’s permission) and that applications cannot be made on behalf of the applicant by any provider. An application made by an installer can be rejected. Orbitbarn can help you understand the steps, provide a quote and invoice, and discuss a technical solution. We cannot submit the grant application for you, and we will not pretend otherwise.
What the grant may and may not cover
The official examples of eligible equipment include items such as a satellite dish, a router, cable, poles and brackets. Eligible installation items include engineer or installer fees and site surveys. Monthly subscription fees are listed as ineligible — so the ongoing Starlink service is not something the grant pays for.
Importantly for anyone looking at a whole-home package, the official guidance lists “internal boosters / mesh systems, including mesh routers” as ineligible equipment. Do not assume that a mesh Wi-Fi system will be funded. If you are unsure about a particular item, the guidance asks you to check with the scheme before installation. The published contact is broadband@gov.wales.
Have a Welsh premises in mind?
Tell us the postcode and we can talk through an install. The grant application itself stays in your name.