More than 25,000 homes and businesses across Cumbria can now access and order ultrafast broadband.
Openreach has announced plans to invest in full fibre broadband for the majority of premises in 30 exchange areas across Cumbria as part of the company’s plans to reach 25 million UK homes and businesses by 2026.
People living and working in Arnside, Crosthwaite, Kendal, Dalton-in-Furness, Longtown and Milnthorpe can already access the new technology and in the next 18 months tens of thousands more are set to follow.
New locations will include areas such as Barrow-in-Furness Carlisle, Cleator Moor, Dalston, Kirkby Lonsdale, Penrith, Shap, Ulverston and Walney, as engineers continue to build the new network across the county.
The company has already spent around £10 million commercially and in partnership with Cumbria County Council’s Connecting Cumbria programme.
Robert Thorburn, Openreach’s Partnership Director for the North West, said: “Following our earlier work in partnership with Cumbria County Council, our commercial investment across Cumbria continues at pace, and we’re determined to deliver a great service which helps communities to thrive and supports people to work from home easily, keep in touch with their loved ones and build connections and opportunities.
““Even if you already have a decent enough service it’s worth checking if you can upgrade, because full fibre is the future, and it provides the best broadband experience at great value for money.”
Engineers have faced challenges building the full fibre network in the more remote rural areas of the county as the Lake District sports one of the most challenging geographies in the UK.
They have also had to ensure that work fits around the farming calendar and the busiest times of the tourist season to keep disruption to a minimum.
Work may also take longer than normal to complete due to the constraints of the National Park, thin winding roads as well as Cumbria being one of the wettest locations in the country.
Councillor David Southward, Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “The value of fast broadband connections to businesses and homes in Cumbria cannot be overstated. Tourism, the food retail industry, and many other small businesses need quick and reliable connections so that instead of having to search endlessly for customers, the customers find them.
He added: “I am delighted that the council’s Connecting Cumbria programme has been able to work collaboratively with Openreach which has helped thousands of local people and businesses benefit from improved broadband speeds, and helps people to stay connected.”
