Business broadband adoption is now higher in Cumbria than any other county in England. It is now 72% and is continuing to rise. It is expected to reach 75% by the end of the project and with over 99.4% availability of broadband in the county there are few barrires remaining to its adoption.

Regarding ADSL usage, at 43% of telephones lines with ADSL, Cumbria is the fourth highest user in the UK. This reflects the fact that ADSL is not suitable for many places as our lines are longer and older due to our predominately rural county. It also shows a subtle benefit of the £18m that the North West Development Agency has invested in Broadband in the County: this investment has overcome the infrastructural difficulties and devilered well beyond the capability of the existing networks.