Fibrus Rollout Extended in Rural Cumbria

Fibrus is pleased to report that it will be bringing access to the fastest broadband speeds on the market to even more homes and businesses in Cumbria, as its UK-Government-funded Project Gigabit contract has been extended.

Fibrus was awarded the Project Gigabit contract in November 2022 which initially covered 32,000 homes and businesses, as well as further homes and businesses that could potentially be brought into the rollout.

Today this has been extended to cover an additional 21,000 premises that would otherwise be left out of any rollout plans. Once this is delivered alongside other commercial plans, it means that 99% of homes and businesses in Cumbria should have access to next generation broadband.

Project Gigabit in Cumbria is making good progress, with premises already connected in villages including Workington, Aspatria, Kendal and Penrith. This latest agreement will bring access to fast reliable broadband to hard-to-reach communities like Leece, Threlkeld, Abbeytown and Slack Head.

This is in addition to the delivery of Project Stratum in Northern Ireland, a separate government-funded rollout which is currently around 98% complete, and scheduled to finish in June’25, on time and within budget.

Fibrus has quickly become a household name in the areas in which it operates, with a high-quality product and great customer service. In addition to delivering premises on time and within budget, Fibrus continues to see exceptional levels of customer take-up in both its subsidised and commercial footprints. Penetration at the end of March 2025 will exceed 27% for Fibrus as a whole and exceed 34% in its subsidised footprint, with earlier cohorts already above 50%.

This growing take-up, combined with steady ARPU growth, means that Fibrus will achieve EBITDA profitability for the coming financial year with annualised recurring revenues in February 2025 already exceeding £32million and growing steadily month on month.

Dominic Kearns, Chief Executive Officer at Fibrus said:

“I am proud of the transformational impact we have had on digital infrastructure in NI and Cumbria. We have been delivering Full Fibre broadband to some of the most challenging geographies and rural areas, ensuring no one gets left behind by the digital divide.

Our internal build team and our partners have demonstrated market leading expertise in rural delivery through our Stratum project and now the Project Gigabit Cumbria build.

Lightning fast, reliable, Full Fibre broadband at affordable prices is what our customers need, and we’re pleased to be the number one provider in our connectable footprint, having connected our 100,000th customer in November last year.

Being awarded this contract extension is a testament to the moves we have made so far, and we’re only just getting started.”

Telecoms Minister Sir Chris Bryant said: “Better broadband will not only enhance the quality of life for tens of thousands of homes and businesses across rural Cumbria, but it will also help us put an end to disparities between urban and rural areas.

“Only last month, we launched our Digital Inclusion Action Plan, setting out our next steps to shrink the digital gap. This announcement is a fantastic example of how a Government-backed contract will help ensure people in rural areas are not left behind and have the tools they need to thrive in the digital age.”