These rural Lancashire areas will get full fibre broadband including Longridge and Whalley

Homes and businesses across the more rural Lancashire communities will have access to ‘most reliable’ full fibre broadband as part of a new project.

The work, being carried out by Openreach which is owned by BT, will give residents and businesses in many of the most hard-to-reach areas access to some of the fastest, most reliable broadband anywhere in Europe. The company has pledged to keep ‘disruption to the minimum’.

Openreach engineers are expected to reach more properties in and around Nelson, Carnforth, Clitheroe, Darwen, Galgate, Hambleton, Hest Bank, Heysham, Knott End, Lancaster, Longridge, Mellor, Morecambe, Pilling, Pleasington, Ribchester and Whalley through the UK Government’s Project Gigabit programme.

The upgrade will let properties connect multiple devices at gigabit-capable speeds and help local businesses trade online.

The upgrades are part of Project Gigabit, a government-funded programme to enable communities to access fast, reliable broadband, targeting homes and businesses that – because of their location - might otherwise miss out.

To date the UK government has signed contracts worth £850 million with Openreach as part of Project Gigabit, which targets hard-to-reach areas that would otherwise be left behind. The investment is set to benefit more than 350,000 premises across the UK, with another £455 million government investment available to further help bridge the digital divide.  

UK Telecoms Minister, Ian Murray, said: “Too many people in rural areas have had to put up with patchy, unreliable broadband for too long – and we’re changing that.

“Through our government-funded Project Gigabit programme, we’re bringing faster, more reliable connections to homes and businesses that might otherwise miss out.

“That means less buffering, smoother video calls, children able to do their online homework without battling for bandwidth, and rural businesses better placed to grow, create jobs and reach customers.”

Fibre technology provides more reliable, resilient and future-proof connectivity, with fewer faults; more predictable, consistent speeds; and enough capacity to easily meet growing data demands. It boosts every online experience, from seamless streaming and gaming for households to smooth video calls, banking and customer interactions for businesses, with much less buffering or slowdown at busy times.

In total, Openreach’s Full Fibre network now reaches more than 670,000 properties across Lancashire.

Kasam Hussain, Openreach Partnership Director for the North and Midlands, said: “We’re bringing faster, more reliable broadband to some of the most rural properties in the region and letting local people know what to expect.

“This is a major infrastructure upgrade, so there will be more engineering teams, equipment and vans around town, and we're working hard to keep disruption to a minimum.

“Wherever possible, we’ll use our existing network of ducts and poles to avoid roadworks, new street furniture and disturbance. But there may be places where we need to install new poles, underground ducts and fibre cables because it’s the only way to make sure households get included in the upgrade.

“Openreach is committed to building the best full fibre network, and doing it sustainably is crucial for our business, the communities we serve, and the environment we all share. As part of our ‘Let’s Reach Zero’ strategy, we aim to lower our carbon emissions, use less and waste less material, and protect nature wherever we operate.”

Project Gigabit is a government-funded programme to enable hard-to-reach communities to access fast, reliable gigabit-capable broadband. It targets homes and businesses that are not included in broadband suppliers’ commercial plans, reaching parts of the UK that might otherwise miss out on upgrades to next-generation speeds.

The connections delivered by Project Gigabit will benefit rural and remote communities, as well as tackling pockets of poor connectivity in urban areas and target inequality.