ULVERSTON Business Alliance has welcomed news that the town will be in the first phase of the superfast broadband roll-out across Cumbria.

It will enable local businesses and residents to get early access to internet speeds of at least 24Mbps.

Cumbria County Council and British Telecom today confirmed the first batch of communication exchanges being upgraded this year with fibre technology.

The announcement is the first confirmation of the two-and-a-half year work programme being delivered through the Connecting Cumbria project.

Superfast broadband is being rolled out to properties across the county, where high-speed internet access has not been commercially available.

The plan is for 93 per cent of all properties in Cumbria to have access to superfast broadband by 2015.

This first stage of the roll-out will see BT engineers working to increase the number of homes and businesses getting superfast speeds in six areas: Ulverston; Carlisle; Penrith; Maryport; Dalton-in-Furness and Workington.

UBA chairman Archie Workman said: “We have worked hard on this objective alongside local MP John Woodcock and prominent local companies to ensure that Ulverston is in the vanguard of the broadband roll-out. The UK is in a technology race and it is terrific to see Ulverston in pole position.”

“High speed broadband is a vital asset to serve the needs of businesses based in the area and those seeking to expand or relocate here and we are delighted with this announcement. We now look forward to seeing further more precise detail of the timescales and availability of the new broadband.”

BT and Cumbria County Council will provide updates to the plan every three months and in time an interactive map on the project website www.connectingcumbria.org.uk will show people when exchanges will be enabled and superfast services will become available.

For more information on Ulverston Business Alliance website visit www.ulverstonbusinessalliance.ning.com