A scheme to speed up broadband across the country will reach Wiltshire in a year’s time, the government revealed yesterday.

Ministers say millions of people in rural parts of England will get access to the fastest broadband speeds on the market as part of a £5 billion plan to improve internet access across the UK.

The government says its Project Gigabit fund to upgrade digital infrastructure will accelerate the country’s recovery from Covid, helping the technology sector and the creative industries, and encourage people to start new businesses.

Swindon, Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire are in a tranche of the roll-out which is due to begin in August next year.

By July 2023, an extra 88,000 premises in the region will have access to speeds of 1,000 megabits (one gigabit) a second – enough to download a HD movie in less than 30 seconds and lay the foundations for next-generation tech such as 8K-quality video streaming.

Across the country, to 1.85 million extra homes and businesses will be helped by the programme.

The government programme comes on top of commercial work by broadband firms to bring faster internet services to more homes.

It says the UK is on track for the fastest rollout in Europe this year and for 60 per cent of all households to have access to gigabit speeds by the end of this year.

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said: “Millions more rural homes and businesses will now be lifted out of the digital slow lane thanks to our mammoth £5 billion investment and one the quickest rollouts in Europe.

“This broadband revolution will create jobs, power up businesses and allow everyone to access vital services at lightning fast speed, helping us build back better from the pandemic.”

Shropshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Worcestershire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will be among the first to benefit.

The work in Swindon and Wiltshire will involve a contract worth up to £145m.