Rural broadband rollout gathering pace

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport's work to deliver high-speed fibre broadband to 95 per cent of UK homes and businesses by 2017 is gathering pace, particularly in rural parts of the country.

Approximately 8,500 green roadside cabinets have been installed in such communities, providing significant improvements to internet connections for rural residents, many of whom were previously faced with slow and inconsistent access to the web.

In addition, over 25,000 km of fibre optic cables have been laid up and down the country - a length equivalent to the distance from Land's End to John O'Groats and back 25 times.

Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss commented: "Rural Britain is being wired up and fired up as we push superfast broadband into the countryside at an electrifying pace."

She added that bringing the high-speed technology to more remote communities is enabling businesses based in these areas "to reach their full potential", by creating jobs and allowing them to make a greater contribution to the UK's economy.