The Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council Joint Executive Committee have today agreed to invest £2m of Connecting Cumbria gainshare funds for the further development of advanced wireless technology across Cumbria.
This investment, funded through the contracts originally set up between Cumbria County Council and BT Plc is available to enhance digital connectivity in Cumbria and will support the expansion of the Borderlands 5G Innovation Region programme, increasing the sustainability and benefits of the current investment.
The Borderlands 5G Innovation Region programme, led by Cumberland Council and managed by Connecting Cumbria, is a collaboration between the counties along the English and Scottish border. Building upon the success of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, the programme aims to demonstrate the commercial opportunities of advanced wireless technology in a rural tourism setting. The additional £2m investment will complement the ongoing works of the Borderlands 5G Innovation Region programme, with the goal of reinforcing Cumbria's position as a hub for rural digital innovation and connectivity.
Cumberland Councillor Chris Southward, Executive Member for Digital Connectivity and Customer Focus and Digital Champion, said:
“This investment will create great opportunities to support Cumbria in fostering rural digital innovation. I’m excited to see the development of new advanced wireless projects across our county as we continue to push forward and maintain our position at the forefront of this technology development and maximise the benefits of 5G technology for services, businesses, residents and visitors”.
Councillor Peter Thornton, Westmorland and Furness Council Cabinet member for Highways and ICT and Champion for Digital Infrastructure, said:
“5G is a critical emerging technology which will create a range of opportunities for business, leisure, transport, service delivery and safety. The decision today to allocate additional funding towards the development of advanced wireless technology will enable Connecting Cumbria to continue to look at additional opportunities for this across the county”.
As part of their efforts to deliver the Cumbria-wide Digital Infrastructure Strategy with the goal of ensuring that no one and no place is left behind in terms of digital connectivity, Connecting Cumbria is leading on the Digital Borderlands 5G Innovation Region programme. This initiative, in partnership with delivery partner AWTG, will focus on five initial venues at Destination Tweed, Kielder Castle and Forest, Stranraer Marina, The Sill at Hadrian’s Wall and the Windermere Ferry.
At the Windermere venue, the team expects to explore new ways of delivering connectivity to the local community, businesses and visitors around the Ferry Nab area, potentially including parts of Bowness. This work at Windermere, supported by today’s announcement, is set to pave the way for further sites across the Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness areas.
To find out more about any aspect of connectivity across Cumbria, please contact the Connecting Cumbria team at info@connectingcumbria.org.uk