An additional 21,000 properties across Cumbria will be added to a gigabit-capable broadband scheme.
Funding for Project Gigabit in Cumbria is being increased from just under £100 million to £149,748,406. This means the number of premises that can be added to the roll-out has increased from 32,429 to 53,536 – and increase of 21,107 properties in hard-to-reach areas.
Connecting Cumbria, working with Building Digital UK (BDUK), secured the extra funding for the Project Gigabit programme. Connecting Cumbria works on behalf of Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland councils to improve digital infrastructure and connectivity across the county.
Councillor Peter Thornton, Westmorland and Furness Council Cabinet Member for Highways and ICT, said: "Reliable and fast broadband is vital both for our businesses and for our residents and their families
"A huge amount of progress has been made already through Project Gigabit and it is great news that it will be able to extend its reach with this extra funding."
Councillor Christopher Southward, Executive Member for Digital Connectivity and Customer Focus at Cumberland Council, said: "This additional investment is fantastic news for Cumberland and the wider county. Digital connectivity is a key driver for economic growth, education, and access to essential services. Expanding the reach of Project Gigabit ensures that more of our rural and hard-to-reach communities can stay connected, helping businesses to thrive and residents to benefit from better online access. We welcome this funding boost and look forward to seeing the impact it will have across Cumberland."
Cumbria is the regional pilot for Project Gigabit, which saw a contract awarded to Fibrus by the Government to deliver gigabit capable services in Cumbria which were not expected to be covered through commercial deployments or voucher projects. Once the gigabit-capable network has been built, residents and businesses will be able to request a connection from a broadband service provider to benefit from the faster speeds.
More than 95 per cent of homes and businesses across the county can now access superfast broadband speeds of above 30Mbps with 62 per cent now able to access gigabit speeds.
In a few years, delivered alongside other commercial plans by different network operators, the aim is for 99 per cent of homes and businesses across Cumbria to have access to “next generation broadband.”
The expansion of Project Gigabit follows agreement reached in January to invest £2 million of Connecting Cumbria funding for the further development of advanced wireless technology across Cumbria.
The investment announced by the Joint Executive Committee of Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland councils provides funding to enhance digital connectivity and support the expansion of the Borderlands 5G Innovation Region programme, which aims to demonstrate the commercial opportunities of advanced wireless technology in a rural tourism setting.
If you have any questions regarding connectivity in your area, click here to email Connecting Cumbria.