Farron: Cumbria’s broadband worse than Shetland’s

Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron welcomed Ofcom's broadband map of the UK, released today, but denounced as 'appalling' Cumbria's particularly low broadband performance

Ofcom's map shows that Cumbria has lower overall performance than a lot of other rural regions, many of which are significantly more remote. These include the Shetland Isles, Devon, Cornwall and Argyll.

One of Tim's key campaigns is to get superfast broadband available across the South Lakes and he is working alongside communities across the region and the County Council to make this a reality. In October Cumbria was announced as one of the four initial Pilot Schemes for superfast broadband access by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK). Earlier in the week North Yorkshire County Council revealed that it received £16.4m from BDUK for its rural broadband pilot, and Tim is working to make sure Cumbria gets the same level of funding.

Ofcom's map and report can be found at http://maps.ofcom.org.uk/broadband/

Tim said: "It's good that Ofcom have released these data, but it is utterly appalling that Cumbria is so badly off with respect to broadband performance. I'm afraid our county is a classic example of market failure, which is why I am campaigning hard to make superfast broadband available across the region. This map shows how badly off we are here, and in an age where access to high-speed internet is essential for both individuals and businesses this really is unacceptable."