A CUMBRIAN town has finally been ‘brought into the 21st century’ becoming the very first in the county to celebrate the arrival of super-fast fibre broadband.

As part of the multi-million pound Connecting Cumbria programme between Cumbria Council and BT, Ulverston was the first to celebrate the transformation in broadband speeds.

BT had originally declared that there was not a strong enough case for it to deploy the super-fast programme in the town, but following pressure from Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock and Ulverston Business Alliance the telecoms giant reviewed their decision.

Mr Woodcock, Ulverston Town Mayor Judy Pickthall and county coun James Airey gathered at Ulverston library to celebrate the town’s triumph.

Mr Woodcock said: “Today is the culmination of our campaign for 21st century broadband to be available to homes and businesses in Ulverston.

“Poor internet speeds have held back local companies for years and I am glad to see that situation finally addressed with today’s fibre broadband roll-out.

“The Connecting Cumbria project is making a difference across the county, but we won’t rest until we see the people living in our more remote rural communities given access to modern internet technology.”

Twelve out of the 18 street-side cabinets in the town, serving almost 4,000 homes and businesses, have already been switched on to fibre broadband, and Cumbria County Council and BT have confirmed the remaining cabinets will be switched on over the coming weeks.

In total, around 6,000 properties in Ulverston will have access to high-speed broadband for the first time.

To mark the launch in Ulverston, members of the Connecting Cumbria project team were in Market Place today (November 21) to promote the service and advise people about the benefits and availability of super-fast broadband.

Elsewhere, additional investment from Connecting Cumbria is bringing improved broadband to more parts of Dalton, Penrith, Maryport, Workington and the city of Carlisle, where new fibre infrastructure is connecting thousands of premises that are beyond the reach of the existing commercial fibre network.