Work to connect 15 Cumbrian towns and villages to high speed broadband will start this year.
Fibrus, which is currently laying full-fibre optic cables in Kendal, Penrith, Workington and Aspatria, will start work soon in places including Windermere, Whitehaven, St Bees, Flookburgh, Great Broughton, Cockermouth, Distington and Keswick.
It has already given access to fast broadband to more than 36,000 homes and businesses across the county.
The telecoms provider has been working in the county since 2021, bringing full-fibre optic cable all the way to premises to provide connection speeds of up to two gigabits per second.
Alongside its commercial rollout, Fibrus has started work to connect tens of thousands of people living and working in rural Cumbria to high-speed connectivity as part of a £108 million Government contract.
Project Gigabit is the Government’s mission to bring lightning fast, reliable broadband to hard-to-reach communities across the UK.
Colin Hutchinson, chief financial officer for Fibrus, said: “We’ve made excellent progress in what is a challenging environment to build.
“The sheer size of Cumbria presents challenges, as does the geology – we’ve had to drill through rock in some places – and with two national parks and three designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, we’ve had to take extra care to minimise the impact of our work on the environment.
“It’s been particularly satisfying to start delivery on Project Gigabit, bringing full-fibre broadband to parts of the UK that might otherwise miss out on getting the digital connectivity they need.”
The company has hosted events in 11 communities to explain its work, responded to more than 300 enquiries and launched an apprentice training facility at Newton Rigg, Penrith, where 16 apprentices have completed training and another 74 will be trained by 2026.
Fibrus is also providing £212,000 to support community projects over the life of the Project Gigabit contract.
It has sponsored the Fibrus 100 girls’ cricket league, provided a fund for grassroots boys’ and girls’ sports clubs and helped to tackle digital poverty with a £60,000 fund for community groups.
