Thousands to be offered 'lightning-fast' broadband

Openreach has been awarded a contract to rollout gigabit-capable broadband

Thousands of more rural homes and businesses will benefit from "lightning-fast" broadband over the next five years.

About 9,000 properties in central and north Wiltshire will have access to gigabit-capable broadband.

It is part of the government's Project Gigabit £5bn programme to upgrade connections in hard-to-reach communities.

Wiltshire Council's cabinet member for broadband Ashley O’Neill said: “Lightning-fast gigabit capable broadband connections have profound benefits for local people and businesses."

A contract was awarded for south Wiltshire last year to Wessex Internet.

Government organisation Building Digital UK (BDUK) has appointed Openreach to build the infrastructure.

Mr O’Neill said the council is "delighted" with the "long-awaited contract".

“We look forward to supporting Openreach to achieve a successful rollout of this scheme and seeing the real difference it can make to people’s lives," he added.

Internet speeds across the UK average about 73mbps.

The government said it wanted 85% of the population to have access to gigabit broadband by 2025, with the whole country benefiting from the same speed by 2030.