Last updated 05:42, Friday, 26 September 2008

THE agency behind a £20 million scheme to provide fast internet connections to Cumbria has hailed it a success.

Project Access was launched in 2004 by the North West Development Agency, aiming to promote business benefits of the technology.

This included creating a high-speed network for public and private sectors.

And since its launch, the NWDA says 99.8 per cent of businesses and people have access to the technology.

Agency Chief Executive Steve Broomhead said: “Sectors that were not previously viable in the area are now thriving, such as digital and creative, while industries supported by the technology such as tourism have thrived.”

Before the project, only seven per cent of businesses used broadband. Now 16,612, some 71.1per cent, use it.