A multi-million pound investment in world-leading broadband facilities could create up to 4,000 jobs in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The scale of the project means that if Cornwall were a country, by 2014 it could be one of the top five broadband nations on the planet.

Telecoms giant BT has been selected as the private sector partner who will install the infrastructure for the £132-million scheme to deliver superfast broadband to the Duchy.

According to BT, the project shows that with the right programme of investment, even Britain’s most rural and challenging areas can lead the way when it comes to internet connectivity.

In a separate announcement, BT said it was also upgrading exchanges in Devon and Somerset including Plymouth, Ivybridge and Taunton to allow about 96,000 additional homes and businesses access to faster broadband.

BT is investing £78.5 million in the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly scheme with the European Regional Development Fund providing the remaining £53.5 million — the largest single investment of the Convergence programme.

Cornwall Council believes that the massive upgrade — which will see between 80 and 90 per cent of homes and businesses able to access broadband speeds of 100Mbps — will see 4,000 jobs created in the Duchy as native businesses expand and companies relocate from other parts of the country to take advantage of both the technology and the quality of life.

Broadband speeds of 100Mbps – or megabits per second – will pave the way for the next-generation internet service, which is 24 times faster than the average UK broadband connection speed of 5.2 megabits per second.

“This is a once in a lifetime investment that will continue to benefit our economy for decades to come,” said councillor Alec Robertson, leader of Cornwall Council.

Read the full story at thisiscornwall.co.uk and in The Cornishman

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