Diolch yn fawr iawn, Dirprwy Lywydd. I think it is fair to recognise that the Welsh Government is undertaking work in a non-devolved area here. But, I don't think that means that we should give a free ride to the Welsh Government, in that it does have influence in areas through grant funding, for example, including grants for individuals through Access Broadband Cymru, grants for telecommunications providers, and the use of other devolved powers, such as the planning system, which is very, very important and can be hugely powerful as a tool to deliver digital investment. Business rate relief is also something that can be used to stimulate investment in digital networks.

A 2017 report by the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee, after its inquiry into digital infrastructure in Wales, regarding Superfast Cymru, concluded:

'Generally speaking, the view from stakeholders is that the Welsh Government’s Superfast Cymru project has delivered adequately in terms of the roll-out of infrastructure, but that there have been shortcomings in the way that the project has been communicated to those in the areas where it is active.'

That was certainly a problem and remains so. Of course, over the past five years, the gap between superfast broadband availability in Wales and the UK as a whole has reduced, and that's to be celebrated. But, the picture is very different for mobile coverage, where Wales continues to score significantly worse compared to the UK average. I listened with eyes wide open to the Deputy Minister's first remarks, when he was saying how dependent his mobile device was in giving him connectivity. There are parts of my constituency where mobile signal and data connectivity through mobile devices is getting worse as the years go on. To me, that's simply not acceptable. There hasn't been investment by Welsh Government in mobile infrastructure. Any roll-out is being left to commercial mobile network operators. The fact is that if we want significant investment, it cannot be left to the market alone, to commercial companies, to build our infrastructure. Significant investment is needed in Wales's digital infrastructure, and here I believe that we see another example of Westminster not working for Wales.

The kind of digital connectivity that we need to build in the coming years will have a huge influence on the kind of economy that we can develop. I'll use the example of Ottawa in Canada, which I have referred to in the past here in the Assembly, where a concerted effort and serious investment in creating a digitally connected region around the Canadian capital resulted in Ford, for example, investing over £300 million in a centre for the development of autonomous vehicles. The investment was made by Ford, but driven by the kind of infrastructure that had been put in place by Government.

We are missing out on key opportunities here because of the inequalities built into the UK as it is. It is often referred to as one of the most unequal states anywhere in the world. That inequality can be seen through digital connectivity too, and now is the time for us to tackle this issue and make sure that, five years from now, we're much clearer about the direction that we are going in, in terms of digital investment. If Westminster doesn't want to do anything, well we have to seek other ways to move forward.

Referring to my amendment in particular, which calls for better information to be provided through a one-stop shop to those who are not connected to the Superfast Cymru programme about how they can access a fast internet connection. There are plenty of ways that people can access fast broadband: through mobile devices, a dongle in the home can provide digital access for the whole home. We've heard of access through the television signal, which you mentioned, in Monmouthshire, and I think there have been similar thoughts given to systems in Anglesey. Satellite has been a long-standing way of getting internet connection. But how many times do I come across constituents, both as private individuals and businesses, who don't know where to turn to ask for information about how to get themselves connected? There's always a way somehow to get yourself connected, but it's hard to believe that all these years on from the beginning of Superfast Cymru, there still isn't that place where people can go to. And, in fact, we've taken a step back from those days when you could go on Superfast Cymru and put your postcode in and be told exactly where you were in line. Well, there were problems with that, too, but there was an idea through a central hub of where you stood in terms of roll-out. We've taken a step back on that, and I do call on Welsh Government to provide that communication stream for people, so that if they have difficulty still in accessing fast broadband, they can have the advice that they need to look elsewhere.