THE future of a pub battling with sporadic wifi connection and landline coverage in Monmouthshire remains uncertain.

Rhiannon Metters took over The Halfway at Tal-y-Coed, between Monmouth and Abergavenny, with her partner Anthony James in March 2022.

The couple have plans to diversify the business and “put something back” in the local community.

However, they say faults on the landline and broadband has seen the pub lose a considerable amount of trade and income after the tills were put out of use and customers were unable to make card payments.

While the latest fault has now been fixed, a cable repair and goodwill credit as financial recompense, Ms Metters has been told to expect continued slow internet speeds as the Tal-y-Coed area is not included in ultrafast full fibre build plans.

The pub has also been hit by unreliable landline connections, meaning phone bookings are often challenging.

BT is the venue's service provider, along with Openreach.

The companies said issues with the service at the Halfway which were reported to them last month have since been fixed.

However, they concede that the location of the pub - between Abergavenny and Monmouth - is remote and infrastructure is limited.

The Openreach postcode checker shows that the NP7 8TL postcode is not currently covered by their 1,000 Mbps service.

A potential solution to the coverage issue in a rural location such as the Halfway's, BT said, is to use 4G broadband with a fixed antennae on the building. However, the mobile signal in the area is insufficient.

A BT spokesperson said: "We're sorry for the problems the business has experienced recently.

"This is a remote location where mobile and broadband infrastructure from most providers is limited.

"Our engineers fixed the fault with service last month and service has been stable since. 

“We'll continue to work with our infrastructure partners to find ways to offer faster speeds, as they become available in the area.”