Jurassic Fibre extends ultrafast broadband network to Cornwall

South West based internet service provider, Jurassic Fibre, today announced the start of their ultrafast broadband network build in Cornwall.

The award-winning broadband company has already rolled out their state-of-the-art network to homes and businesses across Devon, Dorset and Somerset, where many towns and villages had previously struggled with inadequate and unreliable digital connectivity.

Bude marks the start of the broadband provider’s expansion across the region, with the Point of Presence site (the access location at which the Jurassic Fibre network will be situated) already live. Build through the town will start this autumn with the first homes and businesses expected to be live before the end of the year. The provider has already connected over 100,000 premises in 30 towns and villages across the South West.

The decision to extend their network into Cornwall signifies Jurassic Fibre’s commitment to levelling up the South West, digitally, economically and socially, and represents a substantial investment in the region, making gigabit speeds a reality for local communities in Bude.

Cornwall is home to some of the UK’s most digitally deprived and isolated areas. According to a study by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the areas surrounding Bude were deemed some of the remotest areas in the country, ranking as the most cut-off locations from key services such as schools, GP surgeries, food shops, major railway stations and airports out of 32,844 neighbourhoods in England.*

Figures from Ofcom’s Connected Nations report show that, across Cornwall, there are hundreds of households currently unable to get speeds of more than 2 Mbps, making them part of the 0.4% homes in the UK which still do not have access to a decent broadband connection (defined as download speeds of 10 Mbps and upload speeds of 1Mbps).**

The broadband company aims to transform the lives of those living, working and visiting Cornwall through better broadband. The custom-built, fibre-to-the-premise network will offer Bude residents full fibre connectivity, with internet speeds of up to 950Mbps for homes and 10Gbps for businesses***, to boost the region’s economic growth and combat social deprivation.

The network roll out is also set to support Bude’s growing tourism and agriculture industries, by providing better lifestyle and business opportunities for local people and visitors. The expansion also aims to boost the regional economy by enabling more people working and living in Bude to stay digitally connected to other areas of the UK.

The area around Bude is England’s largest area without a train station, an issue which has been raised in parliament many times****. Despite the town’s limited access to key transport services, residents and business owners will be able to more efficiently work remotely or access home-schooling, through better broadband.

Newly appointed CEO Paul Hellings said: “We are committed to supporting the digital growth of the South West by connecting traditionally overlooked areas to our full fibre broadband network. We are delighted to announce this first step into Cornwall, and this milestone is testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, who are working tirelessly to get homes connected and bring local communities up to speed when it comes to broadband.

“Bude is one of the South West’s top tourist destinations, and our network will support the advancement of the town’s key economic sectors and improve the lives of the people who live and work there.

“We look forward to unveiling further announcements soon, on when homes and businesses in Bude and other areas can get connected.”

Armed with a £250m investment from Fern Trading, as advised by Octopus Investments, the local ISP is set to cover over 500,000 traditionally-hard-to-reach premises by the time the network is complete.

* https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/life-cornwalls-most-isolated-area-6563477
** https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/worst-broadband-speeds-cornwall-6862316
***(Dedicated Internet Access product only)
**** https://citymonitor.ai/transport/which-parts-great-britain-are-furthest-train-station-3165