More than 37,700 homes and businesses in remote parts of Cumbria can now connect to full-fibre broadband after Fibrus completed the first phase of its government-funded Project Gigabit contract in the county.
The rollout is part of a £150mn UK government investment in Cumbrian connectivity, and the wider contract is set to reach more than 53,500 properties, leaving around 15,800 premises still to be connected in later phases. Combined with Fibrus’s commercial build, next-generation broadband is expected to be available to 99% of homes and businesses across Cumbria by the end of 2027, according to reports by Mobile Europe and Fibre Provider.
Project Gigabit is the government’s programme, delivered by Building Digital UK, to subsidise full-fibre networks in places commercial operators would not reach on their own. Cumbria’s upland geography and dispersed settlements have long made it one of the harder parts of England to connect.
“Fibrus’ milestone is real progress in bringing faster broadband to Cumbria’s rural and remote communities,” said Ian Murray, the UK Telecoms Minister. “This is just one way we are spreading opportunity to every part of the country.”
Among the organisations already connected is Wellness Walks, a volunteer-led charity that switched to Fibrus full fibre in May 2026 and now coordinates more than 120 volunteers across northern England, Wales and Scotland.
Network availability is only the first step. Homes and businesses must still choose to take up a service, and the remaining phases of the contract will determine whether the most isolated properties in the county are reached on schedule.
For rural Cumbria, gigabit-capable connections underpin remote working, farm diversification, tourism bookings and access to online public services, all areas in which poor connectivity has held back the county’s smaller communities.
Featured image: Photo: Colin Park, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
