Cumbria will be one of the first areas to get better broadband in a £5 billion project.

Project Gigabit, a new scheme from the Government, will prioritise hard-to-reach rural areas with the slowest speeds.

In Cumbria and Northumberland up to 230,000 homes and businesses that will not benefit from planned rollout by broadband companies will have gigabit broadband installed for them – including across the whole of Cumbria.

The Government-funded projects will prioritise buildings that currently have the slowest connections and which would otherwise have been left behind in broadband companies’ rollout plans.

Current technology has their available speeds at more than 1,000 megabits or one gigabit per second. They hope that work will begin in the first half of next year.

Digital infrastructure Minister Matt Warman said:

“Today almost everything is online – how we work, shop, play, and socialise – but too many rural communities are stuck in the digital slow lane waiting for better broadband. “We’re making a huge step to put an end to this with Project Gigabit. “This is fantastic news for the region’s homes and businesses giving them the chance to take full advantage of the social and economic benefits of new technology. I’m excited to see the huge difference it will make.”

The work isn't just planned for residencies but also for surgeries, schools and any large infrastructure that currently suffers with a lower-than-normal bandwidth.