THE £132 MILLION project will begin in 2011, with the aim of giving businesses access to new speeds of up to 100Mbs and will initially launch in areas of South East Cornwall prior to a total roll-out by 2014.
With the internet worth a staggering £100 billion a year to the UK, Cornwall is poised to take advantage of the opportunities that arise from working at the cutting edge of the technology market. The initial pilot scheme will see more than 10,000 businesses and homes in Leedstown, Chiverton Cross, St Agnes, Portreath, St Day, Devoran, Stenalees and Par able to access the service by the end of March 2011.
BT South West regional director, Jon Reynolds, commented: “It is excellent news that the first Cornish businesses and homes will have access to super-fast broadband at such an early stage. This is a transformational project, which will boost the productivity of local businesses and help to attract a more diverse range of high-growth companies to the area. It will play a major role in creating a more prosperous Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.”
The exciting partnership project, funded by BT and the European Union is expected to deliver super-fast fibre broadband to around 80 to 90 per cent of businesses and households in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by 2014. Up to £53.5 million is coming from the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) Convergence programme, the largest ever single European investment in broadband infrastructure, and £78.5 million from BT. The project is also expected to create around 4,000 new jobs, in addition to protecting a further 2,000.
Nigel Ashcroft, Director of next generation broadband for Cornwall Development Company, said: “This is an incredibly innovative and pioneering project never before done on this scale. It means that early next year the first Cornish customers will be experiencing the huge benefits offered by super-fast broadband and we will be obtaining useful information, which will assist the project’s progress elsewhere.”
