Broadband scheme creates 4,000 jobs - graduate jobs

Cornwall Council could soon be offering jobs to graduates as part of its multimillion-pound project for the delivery of super-fast broadband.

The £132 million roll-out will provide broadband with speeds of up to 100mb across Cornwall and the Isle of Scilly, making them some of the best connected locations in the world.

The roll-out is expected to create 4,000 new jobs, and protect an existing 2,000 in the area.

Between 80 and 90% of businesses and households in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly will receive the super-fast broadband by 2014, while a pilot scheme will see eight Cornish villages able to access the service by the end of March.

More than 10,000 businesses and homes will benefit from the pilot, which will supply isolated areas prior to the major broadband roll-out.

The project is being managed by Cornwall Council's economic development arm, Cornwall Development Company, with funding from the European Union and BT.

Funding of £53.5 million has been provided by the European Regional Development Fund Convergence programme - the largest ever single European investment in broadband infrastructure. A further £78.5 million has been provided by BT.

Super-fast broadband benefits include users being able to run multiple bandwidth-hungry applications at the same time and sending and receiving large amounts of data much more quickly and efficiently.

The first hard-to-reach communities which will receive the service under the pilot scheme have been announced as the Chiverton Cross area, Leedstown, St Agnes, Portreath, St Day, Devoran, Stenalees and Par.