Farron heralds new broadband investment for rural Cumbria

Local MP Tim Farron has praised the government's announcement to bring in a raft of new measures to boost access to high speed broadband in rural areas.

The measures aim to bring high speed broadband to rural areas like Cumbria and prevent a widening digital divide within the UK. As part of the measures, the government will open up existing infrastructure to reduce the costs of laying new fibre optic cables to stimulate investment in 'next generation' networks.

Part of the underspend from promoting the digital TV switchover will be invested in helping the 3 million households who do not currently have access to broadband at a minimum speed of 2 Mbps. Three government-backed market testing projects will also bring the next generation of super-fast broadband to rural and hard-to-reach areas.

Commenting, Tim said: "Local people and the business community regularly raise the problems they have accessing adequate broadband services in South Lakeland with me. Improving our broadband infrastructure is critical to the competitiveness of the economy as a whole, nowhere more so than in rural areas such as ours. I'm delighted that these measures have been announced and this is something I want to see put in practice as soon as possible."