In Cumbria, UK Government awarded the Project Gigabit contract to Fibrus, who will be providing wholesale services on the publicly funded infrastructure under the brand Hyperfast GB to up to 60,000 properties across the county by 2026.  This contract, which is in delivery phase, has to date served circa 2,000 properties across our county.  Deployment under this contract will continue until 2026.

To follow all the latest developments regarding Project Gigabit across Cumbria or to check out the new postcode checking tool, readers are urged to follow the Hyperfast GB website and their Facebook page.

It is expected that up to 80% of properties around the UK will be covered through the commercial deployment of new gigabit capable infrastructure by a mix of different network companies by the end of 2025.  Through a combination of commercial deployments, based upon currently announced plans, and the Project Gigabit delivery, we anticipate that gigabit coverage in Cumbria will exceed 99% of properties by 2026.

To find out which network operators are in your area please check your postcode here. 

This checker will let you input your postcode, you will then be prompted to select your full postal address, to check the picture for properties across the UK. At the foot of the results, showing the speeds available to your premise, is a section advising of the network operators available in your area with links to their websites to find out more information.

The most recently received Ofcom coverage data estimates outdoor coverage from at least 1 Mobile Network Operator to be over 90% of Cumbria and coverage from all 4 main networks at over 64%.

The UK Government Shared Rural Network mobile infrastructure programme is seeking to deliver further improvements with a target of 95% outdoor 4G coverage in the UK from at least one Mobile Network Operator by 2025 combined with extensive commercial investment by all four major networks to increase services in areas of partial coverage.

Readers can find out all the latest news via the SRN Website.

The Borderlands Partnership has been established to unlock the potential for sustainable and inclusive economic growth across the South of Scotland and the North of England.  The Borderlands has recently been named as one of ten 5G Innovation Regions to share in a £36 million fund from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Readers can keep up to date with all the latest news via the Borderlands website.

5G is a critical emerging technology which will create a range of opportunities for business, leisure, transport, service delivery and safety.  We are continuing to look at opportunities across Cumbria to support research and development to ensure that Cumbria is positioned to maximise benefits from this technology for our businesses, residents and visitors.

Readers are directed to the below information sources to find out more:

5G New Thinking – please click here.

Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Accelerator 5G – please click here.

Following the announcement that Borderlands has been named as one of the ten 5G Innovation Regions by UK Government, representatives from each of the five local authorities in England and Scotland which make up the Borderlands Partnership (Cumberland Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Northumberland County Council, Scottish Borders Council and Westmorland and Furness Council) have been working to develop further the plan of works for five initial sites across the Borderlands area:

• Windermere 5G Ferry
• Kielder Castle and Forest
• Stranraer Marina
• The Sill @ Hadrian’s Wall
• Destination Tweed

These venues have been chosen because they can be delivered and replicated. The intention is to design into these use cases a range of options to ensure sustainability and encourage further commercialisation during delivery. Learning from these areas, especially with respect to commercial sustainability, will be used to demonstrate the benefits of the technology and support our strategy to roll out to more sites as part of our renewed Digital Infrastructure Strategy.

The full announcement can be read here.

In the heart of the Lake District, artist Jasmine Balmer creates and sells handmade polymer clay jewellery to customers near and far.

We caught up with Jasmine to find out how her fixed line broadband and mobile 4G connectivity support her in what she does.

Read the full story here.

Are you a business in either the Westmorland and Furness or Cumberland areas using fixed line or mobile connectivity to support what you do?  We are really keen to talk to you about this with a view to creating our next case study story. 

If you would like to get involved, benefiting from local and possible national publicity through our programme, then please contact the team at info@connectingcumbria.org.uk.  We look forward to hearing from you.