Update on fibre broadband for Cumbria
Feb 2, 2022The wheels of Project Gigabit grind slowly but
we do have a (slightly) better idea of timescales. It’s expected that the
invitation to tender (ITT) will go out anytime now with a contract for Cumbria
in place by September – that’s assuming there is a satisfactory bidder. Then
there’s planning and surveying – estimated to take until March next year with
deployment running through to at least the end of 2025. So no one is going to
get full fibre via this scheme anytime soon.
So where does this leave those who are still
struggling with slow broadband via ADSL – particularly at the Rusland end of the
Parish? The areas of Cumbria which will be covered (‘Intervention areas’) will
be included in the ITT so it’s probable
that we’ll know this fairly soon. If you’re not included, the voucher scheme
will again be made available to you with those currently getting under 30 Mbps
also eligible for a top up grant using the County Council’s gainshare funding.
From a timescale point of view, the voucher scheme seems the more attractive
especially if you have an ‘oven ready’ project to dust off the shelf.