Cumbria High Speed Broadband

Connecting Cumbria, a 7-year project to designed to bring broadband to 127,000 premises in Cumbria has been completed.

14:42 05 January 2021

Connecting Cumbria, a seven-year project to bring superfast broadband to more than 127,000 homes and businesses in Cumbria, has been recently completed. 

 

The project, which was launched in partnership between Cumbria County Council and Openreach, will help ensure broadband coverage to more than 95per cent of all properties in the county. The cost of the scheme is more than £50million and was funded by grants from Building Digital UK, a part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. 

 

David Southward, Cumbria County Council’s cabinet member for economic development and property, said that digital connectivity is very critical particularly during the pandemic. 

 

He said: "This importance has been further highlighted by the Covid-19 crisis and as we recover and rebuild, access to fast, reliable connectivity is no longer a luxury for residents, local businesses or for the effective delivery of public services.

 

“From living and working in Cumbria, I know first-hand some of the challenges in delivering infrastructure in our county and the hard work that has gone into delivering fibre-based broadband through the Connecting Cumbria partnership.

 

“I am delighted that nearly 95 per cent of properties in the county can now access superfast broadband services of at least 24mbps.

 

"There is still more to do and Connecting Cumbria will now focus on the delivery of the Council’s digital infrastructure strategy, with the aim of expanding gigabit services and improving connectivity to all communities. This is a top priority given the significant economic and social benefits for Cumbria.”