Connecting Cumbria Newsletter
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Welcome to the October 2024 edition of the Connecting Cumbria newsletter.
This month we provide an update on all aspects of connectivity across our county, the Borderlands 5G Innovation Regions programme, direct readers to the revamp of the Connecting Cumbria website and look at how two Cumbria based businesses are using improved connectivity to support what they do.
We are currently seeing unprecedented investment into digital infrastructure supporting an array of activity across our county, with over £400m of investment between commercial and public funded programmes, and are excited about the opportunities this will bring for the residents and businesses of Cumbria. Please share the link to our newsletter, follow us on social media and monitor our website to keep you, your friends and your family up to date in all that is happening.
If you have any queries regarding connectivity in your area, then please forward these to the team at info@connectingcumbria.org.uk
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UK Government Project Gigabit
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Project Gigabit delivery continues across Cumbria. This £108m gigabit-capable broadband scheme will improve connectivity across our county through targeting up to 60,000 properties that are not expected to be reached through commercial deployment programmes.
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The properties included in this programme are currently being reviewed by Building Digital UK, an executive agency of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with the expectation that additional properties in Cumbria will be released for deployment planning by Fibrus under the contract. Please note that we do not have a firm timescale for this process, but we are hopeful that it will be completed by the end of this calendar year. You can follow all the latest news and find out all the latest deployment information via the Hyperfast GB website where you are now able to check the status of your property using the ‘check availability’ tab.
Commercial Deployment
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Cumbria has attracted significant private investment in the past couple of years and there is a strong commercial programme of works by a number of providers to further enhance connectivity across our county. These programmes, are investing over £300m, creating significant jobs, with these works expected to reach more than 200,000 properties. This will create opportunities for businesses to thrive and improve service delivery
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Find out which companies are currently offering services in your area using the Ofcom broadband checker tool. We strongly recommend taking advantage of competition between networks and shopping around to find the package that suits you best.
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Mobile Network Operators and Government are working together to transform mobile coverage countywide through the UK Government Shared Rural Network mobile programme, which is seeking to deliver 95% geographical 4G coverage in the UK from at least one Mobile Network Operator by 2025 and 84% from all four. The Connecting Cumbria team are committed to supporting this piece of work. Keep up with all the latest developments here.
You can find out more about current mobile connectivity in your area using the Ofcom mobile availability checker here.
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Since our last newsletter, the programme has announced AWTG Limited as lead supplier of the Borderlands 5G Innovation Region programme. AWTG will be working to a tight timescale to deliver innovative 5G solutions across five sites across the Borderlands. The announcement of the award of the technical services contract for this programme can be read here.
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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) continue to develop the plan of works for these five initial sites:
· Destination Tweed
· Kielder Castle and Forest
· Stranraer Marina
· The Sill @ Hadrian’s Wall
· Windermere 5G Ferry
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 5G research and development and deployment to ensure that Cumbria is positioned to maximise benefits from this technology for our businesses, residents and visitors. Further updates will be provided in due course.
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Whitehaven based Marsden Makes Co. provides graphic design services to clients near and far in a range of formats from unique gifts to branded merchandise. Abi Marsden, the founder and creator of this local business, has been telling us how much she enjoys working with her clients on a variety of projects to meet their needs and requirements.
We talked to Abi about how her fixed line broadband and 4G service supports her in providing the service she does.
Read the full story here
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Harrison Ward is an outdoor cook, author, mental health speaker and TV personality.
After discovering a passion for hiking in 2016 following a drastic life change, it wasn’t long before a lifetime love of cooking was merged with his new vice. He can often be found creating delicious, restaurant style meals on minimal camping equipment in the hills and publicly speaking about his battle with alcoholism, depression and obesity.
We caught up with Harrison to find out how access to online services is so important to what he does.
Find out more here.
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The Connecting Cumbria website has had a revamp making it more user friendly to users. Our website features lots of useful information on all aspects of connectivity and features case study stories highlighting the importance of improved services across our county. Take a look here to find out more!
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You can now follow the team on social media for all the latest news and information regarding connectivity across Cumbria.
Facebook
X (formerly Twitter)
Any likes and shares are always appreciated.
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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. With Christmas now around the corner we would be particularly interested to hear from local businesses providing festive goods and services to whom we can provide some extra publicity during the Christmas period.
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.
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