Superfast Cornwall UK Project Hits Fibre Broadband Coverage Milestone

The joint £132m public and privately funded “Big Build” Superfast Cornwall project, which aims to make BT’s superfast broadband (FTTC/P) technology available to 95% of local premises by the end of 2014, is now covering 75% of the area.

Superfast Cornwall is funded by £78.5m from BT and up to £53.5m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The project originally aimed to reach “at least” 80% of homes and businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by the end of 2014 but, thanks to a reinvestment of savings from efficiency improvements (e.g. using lightweight overhead fibre cables on telegraph poles), this was adjusted upwards to 95% in March 2013 (here).

At the end of Q1-2013 more than 50% of premises in Cornwall had access to BT’s up to 80Mbps FTTC or 330Mbps capable FTTP service and over 20,000 customers had taken the service. Since then the coverage has increased to 190,000 Cornish premises (75%) and more then 24,000 had connected during May 2013.