What is the 'Big Build'?

There is good reason why we are calling this the 'Big Build.' The scale of the task we are undertaking is huge.

In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, we've been able to combine the weight of European funding together with that of the public and the private sector to get a 'once in a lifetime' level of investment that is unprecedented anywhere in Europe.

Whilst some 5 million premises across the UK are already covered by superfast broadband, it is envisaged that fibre optic broadband will only reach some two thirds of all premises in the UK through current commercial roll-out plans.

Here we are developing a countywide superfast broadband infrastructure. The Superfast Cornwall programme will deliver high speed fibre optic broadband to at least 80% of premises by 2014, and we are aiming to bring faster broadband to everyone else through alternative technologies.

What's more, in Cornwall, there will be more of the 'Fibre to the Premises' technology - tens of thousands of superfast broadband connections will be provided in this way. Cornwall is one of the very first places in the UK where this cutting edge technology will be available to this extent.

So the Big Build is breaking records in both its scale and also its innovation.