BT aims to help Cumbrian businesses with fibre broadband plans

BT has said its planned Cumbrian fibre optic broadband rollout is so important because of the number of local businesses based in isolated communities.

The telecoms giant's managing director of next-generation access Bill Murphy noted that around 7,000 firms operate from villages, hamlets and remote properties across the county.

Consequently, BT felt it was important to help bring super-fast broadband to all those properties in hard-to-reach locations, he explained.

The internet service provider has this week been named as Cumbria County Council's preferred provider, meaning the company is set to roll out fibre broadband to approximately 93 per cent of homes and businesses in the area by the end of 2015.

Mr Murphy added: "Small business plays a pivotal role in the county's economy and the rollout of fibre broadband will act as an economic driver for those rural businesses."

Cumbria is one of England's most rural counties, with 18.8 per cent of the population stuck with broadband speeds of less than 2Mbps, according to Ofcom.