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Lancashire to benefit from improved broadband
Monday 30th January 2012, by Sam Pickard
A deal has been agreed by Lancashire County Council which will see up to 97 per cent of the county have access to superfast broadband.
Businesses and residents will be able to enjoy speeds in excess of 30Mbps by 2014, after the local authority appointed BT as its delivery partner.
The council currently provides facilities, or has plans in place, for two-thirds of the county to access superfast broadband, with the latest deal providing a further boost.
It was also recently announced that BT was providing better access to thousands of people living in East Lancashire, with the service of up to 20Mbps being delivered through copper lines.
Public sector investment of around £32 million will be used in the project, with £10.8 million coming from Broadband Delivery UK, £16.5 million from the European Regional Development Fund and £4.7 million from Lancashire County Council.
Furthermore, small and medium sized enterprises will be helped to take advantage of the broadband facilities thanks to a separate £3 million fund which will be set up by.
Geoff Driver, leader of Lancashire County Council, said that he was determined that the region would continue to be at the forefront of this technology.
"At the very least these premises will receive access to 2Mbs. The rural area to the east of Lancaster has been designated as the first pilot for these ideas in Lancashire," he added.
Edwin Booth, chair of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, added that superfast broadband has a "critical role" to play in increasing productivity and innovation across the county.
"We want a thriving economy here in Lancashire and this will help us to achieve it. In terms of providing the necessary infrastructure for business in the 21st century, creating this network could be as important as the construction of the canals and railways was to the Industrial Revolution," he noted.
