By Nick Turner

Last updated at 12:41, Thursday, 28 June 2012

Whitehaven is to get superfast fibre broadband and BT is predicting that its investment could help create new businesses and hundreds of jobs.

The announcement means that 10,400 homes and businesses in Whitehaven will get the fibre broadband in 2013, which is likely to bring speeds of up to 80 megabits per second for domestic users.

And BT says that its investment in Whitehaven is likely to be a massive economic boost to the town.

It has highlighted recent research by Regeneris Consulting predicted that over the next 15 years BT’s fibre broadband could give the economy of a typical town a £143 million boost, create 225 new jobs and 140 new start-up businesses.

Jamie Reed, MP for Copeland, welcomed the announcement, saying: “This is excellent news for many people in Cumbria. They’re the latest in the region who will soon have access to the next generation of internet services.

“Reliable, fast connections can make all the difference to education and business, and give people much greater scope for interaction with the world around them. In a tough economic climate, this investment will help make Cumbria an even better place to live, work and do business, and will help to develop the Energy Coast programme.”

John Grainger, managing director of Invest In Cumbria, said: “Super-fast broadband is an essential building block to economic recovery and growth. It will give our local firms in Whitehaven a boost and bring a competitive edge in attracting new businesses, jobs and investment. Residents will also benefit from being able to do more, better and faster, online.”

The fibre deployment also means that businesses will be able to take advantage of even higher speeds of 330Mbps, which BT aims to have commercially available in any area where fibre broadband has been deployed.

Such speeds would be achieved by paying for a FTTP (fibre to the premises) service where fibre runs all the way to the home or business rather than just a nearby cabinet.

Mike Blackburn, BT’s regional director for the North West, said: “The arrival of fibre broadband in Whitehaven is a massive shot in the arm for the local economy, creating new businesses, jobs and educational opportunities.

“As our new fibre network expands across region it also brings new potential for offering essential public services on-line and cost savings across the sectors.

“Local firms and households who make the switch to fibre broadband will be able to do so much more with their connection, whether they’re using it for business, entertainment, education, social networking or shopping – or all of these at once.”

First published at 11:27, Thursday, 28 June 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk