It will also support businesses to better grow and serve their customers online and help young people have a better start in life through access to online education and the resources to apply and interview for jobs.

Project Gigabit plays a key role in plans to kickstart economic growth and break down barriers to opportunity as part of the government’s Plan for Change. With faster Internet speeds across the country, communities that would otherwise be left behind with outdated broadband networks will be able to make the most of what the digital world has to offer.

Areas set to benefit include the Dee Valley, Isle of Anglesey, and Shropshire Hills as four new contracts – worth over £289 million (€349m) – have been signed by the UK government and UK digital infrastructure provider Openreach. This will deliver the fastest, most reliable broadband networks on the market to hundreds of towns and villages in rural Britain and plug the digital divide outside urban areas.

Areas to benefit from the new contracts include North and Southwest Wales, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Devon, Somerset, Essex, North East England and Worcestershire.

Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, said: “We are determined to deliver the infrastructure this country needs to thrive, and I am thrilled to see so many homes and businesses in all areas of the country getting access to the fastest broadband speeds on the market through Project Gigabit. With today’s £289 million investment, we are not only boosting connectivity, but making it easier to access remote healthcare, online education, shopping online. work, learn, shop and stay in touch with loved ones online. As part of this government’s Plan for Change, we will plug digital divides, helping to make the UK a more equal society where everyone is given a fair shot in life.”

The latest contracts add to the 96,600 premises already set to benefit under a UK government agreement with Openreach. The agreement signed earlier this year will make up to £800 million of funding available to modernise broadband infrastructure in rural areas of England, Scotland and Wales, ending the plight of buffering.

Across the UK, Project Gigabit is now delivering gigabit connectivity to over 1.1 million hard-to-reach premises – a figure that will continue to rise in the months ahead, meeting the demand for reliable connectivity, stimulating rural economies and reducing regional disparities.

For households, gigabit-capable broadband delivers faster speeds and fewer dropouts, providing a gateway to remote working and online education. Unlike traditional copper-based networks, gigabit connections won’t slow down at peak times, meaning no more battling for bandwidth with neighbours. Gigabit networks can easily handle over a hundred devices all at once with no buffering, meaning the whole family can seamlessly surf, stream and download at the same time.

Across the UK, over 1 million hard-to-reach premises already have access to upgrades thanks to UK government investment. Over 85 per cent of the country can now access gigabit connections, putting the UK in a strong position to meet the government’s target of full gigabit coverage by 2030.

Dozens of Project Gigabit contracts representing more than £2.2 billion investment have now been signed with over 10 different suppliers to deliver the upgrades, including many smaller, independent broadband providers.

Openreach CEO, Clive Selley, added:  “Our new Full Fibre broadband network now reaches more than half of all properties in the UK, and we’re confident we can reach as many as 30 million premises by the end of the decade, assuming the right regulatory and investment conditions exist. This is a British infrastructure success story which experts say will boost productivity by £73 billion and bring a raft of social and environmental benefits for the country. We believe that everyone deserves access to fast and reliable broadband, and we’re proud that this partnership will help extend our ultrafast, ultra-reliable network to areas that would otherwise be left behind by the private sector.”