First communities to benefit from multi-million superfast Lancashire broadband project are announced

• Around 13,000 homes and businesses will be first to benefit

• Around 2,700 kilometres of optical fibre cable will be installed in Lancashire over the lifetime of the project
• High-speed broadband to reach 97 per cent of premises by end of 2015
• Business support centre to launch in the summer 

Work has started in the first locations as part of Superfast Lancashire, the ambitious, multi-million pound project to make superfast broadband available throughout the county, BT and Lancashire County Council announced today.

Engineers have now begun planning and building the new high-speed fibre network in a number of areas in the county, including the communities of Caton, Chatburn, Forton and Galgate

Around 2,500 homes and businesses in these communities will have access to fibre broadband (with speeds of up to 80Mbps) - once this initial phase of the county-wide roll-out is completed. The first customers are expected to be able to connect by September, 2013. Further coverage in these areas will be delivered in future phases.

There will also be a substantial investment in making fibre broadband more widely available in areas which already have the high-speed technology such as Blackburn, Burnley, Lancaster and Leyland. In total, the first phase of the Project should see more than 13,000 homes and businesses gain access to fibre broadband services.

Openreach engineers from BT will start work on laying around 2,700 kilometres of optical fibre cable and installing a total of around 700 new fibre broadband cabinets throughout the Superfast Lancashire Broadband Project area. It is estimated that engineers will complete over a million man hours of work planning and building the network during the lifetime of the project.

The Project will use public and private sector funds* to deliver high-speed broadband to parts of the country not covered by commercial roll out plans and will see the total amount invested in this technology in Lancashire rise to around £130m, including £16.5m of support from the European Regional Development Fund North West programme. It also includes funds from supporting council partners Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen. The Project will transform the broadband landscape across the county by extending access to fibre broadband to 97 per cent of premises by the end of 2015. This will ensure that Lancashire is one of the best connected counties in the UK.

Superfast Lancashire will also benefit those Lancashire premises which currently receive downstream speeds of less than 2Mbps. Ofcom believes that around 12 per cent of premises in Lancashire currently receive less than 2Mbps but that percentage will plummet to virtually zero as the Project will ensure they benefit from faster speeds.
The local economy will also benefit with the creation of 2,500 jobs and the protection of more than 1,200 jobs over the next few years. The county’s Enterprise Zones are a key priority as super-fast broadband will help local businesses to become even more competitive.

As part of the drive to stimulate business growth, funding from the Project is being used to launch a Business Support Programme. A team of business advisors have been recruited to support the growth and development of local SMEs by showing them how super-fast broadband can be used to enhance their business. A specialised Business Support Centre will open in the summer. More detailed information on the roll-out will also be available at a new website: www.superfastlancashire.com in the coming months.

Geoff Driver, Leader of Lancashire County Council, said: “Superfast Lancashire is hugely important for the county. This project will ensure that our people and businesses can benefit from the next generation of superfast broadband. Completing this project will put Lancashire at the forefront of the digital revolution."

Mike Blackburn, BT’s regional director for the North West, said: “This ambitious Project 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 prosperity in the county.”

“We have been working hard to get us to where we are today. This is an exciting time for Lancashire and the beginning of a journey that will see the communications landscape completely transformed.”

Ben Wallace, MP for Wyre and Preston North, said: "It is great to see the Superfast Lancashire project getting underway. This will bring superfast broadband to 97% of the county and will be particularly important for those rural and more remote areas that would otherwise have been left behind.

“I look forward to further announcements regarding the roll out of the project across Wyre and Preston North and to working with LCC and BT to ensure rural businesses are connected. I am really pleased to have been able to support the project and look forward to seeing individuals and businesses enjoying the economic and social benefits it will bring."

Dennis Mendoros, Member of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Board and North West European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Local Management Committee said: "From a business perspective, the Superfast Lancashire project will provide a welcome boost for the growth priorities of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership.

“Support from the North West ERDF programme will help create the vital infrastructure that businesses need to prosper and will make Lancashire a more attractive location for companies looking to invest. I know my colleagues in the private sector appreciate this initiative which strengthens our competitive position."

The new fibre based network will be open to all communications providers on an equivalent basis.** Households and businesses in Lancashire will therefore benefit from a highly competitive market, bringing greater choice and affordable prices from a wide range of service providers. It will also boost the competitiveness of local businesses, helping them to find new customers and operate more efficiently, whilst opening up a host of new learning and development opportunities for households.

Super-fast broadband benefits include users being able to use multiple applications at the same time, including downloading films or playing video games online, and sending and receiving large amounts of data much more quickly and efficiently.

Computer processing and storage of files will also become more sophisticated and secure using ‘cloud computing’ technology that delivers services over the internet. There will be faster back-up of computer systems and wider use of high-quality videoconferencing within businesses and between them and their customers.

ENDS

Notes to editors

*BT is contributing £30 million to the project whilst £10.8 million will come from Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), £16.5 million from the European Regional Development Fund and £5.2 million from local councils (£4.7m from LCC, £300,000 from Blackburn with Darwen Council and £230,000 from Blackpool Council.

This project is part financed by the North West European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013.

The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information visit

https://www.gov.uk/erdf-programmes-and-resources#north-west

** Openreach provides external CPs (Communications Providers) with a variety of ways in which they can offer fibre broadband to their customers. These include an ‘active’ product – GEA – which comes in various speed combinations and a ‘passive’ product – PIA – whereby CPs can lay their own fibre via our ducts and poles if they want greater control over the service they offer.

Openreach plans to commercially launch fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) on demand during Spring 2013 and will levy an installation charge for the service. 330Mbps and 80Mbps are the top wholesale speeds available from Openreach to all service providers; speeds offered by service providers may vary.