COMMUNITIES across the North West of England are set to receive high speed internet.

Openreach, the UK’s largest telephone and broadband network, has announced that more than 7,000 premises across the region are now part of its Community Fibre Partnership (CFP) scheme

The campaign involves the company splitting the cost of installing faster broadband with the local community.

In many cases, the local contribution can be entirely covered by broadband vouchers, such as the Government’s Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme.

Robert Thorburn, Openreach’s partnership director, said: “The CFP scheme has been a huge success and there are many communities across the North West delighted to have fast broadband speeds, despite living in some of the most rural areas. It builds on the work we’re already doing ourselves, and in partnership with our council partners across the region.

“Faster broadband is essential for everyday life. There are many advantages of faster speeds, for both home users and businesses, and I’d strongly urge everyone to check if they live in a fibre-enabled area, and if so, get in touch with their broadband provider to find out more about upgrading.

"If you’re one of the few still not in a plan, now’s the time to find out more about Openreach’s Community Fibre Partnership programme and the opportunities it provides.”

Openreach is using a mix of technologies to deliver the CFP programme, but primarily the latest ultrafast fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology providing broadband speeds of up to 1Gbps.