Cumbria has been awarded nearly £39 million in grants as part of a plan to improve broadband in the County.  Cumbria was chosen as one of 4 areas that will pilot the development of broadband in sparsely populated districts.

The project is known as Connecting Cumbria and Cumbria County Council has been asked to manage it.  Their aim is “to develop a first-class broadband network across the whole of Cumbria”.  Further investment will be sought from a variety of sources, including both public and private.

On 29th November 2012, Cumbria County Council and BT signed a contract under which BT will install the infrastructure to make superfast broadband available to 93% of properties in the County.  A paper will be considered at the County Council's Cabinet on 30th January 2013 and, if it is approved, it should become clear by the beginning of March which areas will be able to access the new service.

Further information can be found on the Connecting Cumbria website.  A video giving a "user-friendly" outline of the different technologies that could be used to deliver superfast broadband to properties can be viewed here.