NEARLY two years after Royal Wootton Bassett became the first town under Wiltshire Council authority to receive superfast broadband, a further £3.86 million has been invested in the scheme.

More than 5,000 additional homes and businesses across the county will be able to reach internet speeds of more than 24mbps by using the fibre broadband, enabling users to stream videos without buffering and download content more easily and quickly.

The Wiltshire Online project - a collaboration between Wiltshire Council, South Gloucestershire Council and BT - has enabled more than 62,000 premises in Wiltshire to have access to the high-speed service since it launched in December 2013.

The new deal injects further funding into the council’s contract with BT, with an additional £2.46m coming from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Superfast Extension Programme, half a million from Wiltshire Council and £900,000 from BT.

John Thomson, the Wiltshire Council cabinet member for broadband, said: “From the very the start of this project our aim was for as many people as possible to benefit from this vital service and I am delighted thousands more homes and businesses will have access.

“We have invested significant money into the project because we recognise the long-term benefits to Wiltshire and the many opportunities it will create.”

Planning and surveying on the new phase will begin early next year and engineers from Openreach – BT’s local network business – will start building and installing the fibre and structures in 2016.

Bill Murphy, BT’s managing director of next generation broadband, said: “Superfast broadband has a huge impact on the way we live.

“It helps business to move, act and trade quickly and effectively. It enables schoolchildren to access their homework online, helps provide care for our elderly, as well as offering better access to e-commerce, social media and home entertainment.

“We’ve already provided more than 62,000 Wiltshire homes and businesses with access to high-speed fibre broadband as a result of our partnership with the county council and we look forward to extending this even further across the county as a result of this announcement.”

Wiltshire Council’s website www.wiltshireonline.org includes a postcode checker which provides updates on the progress of fibre broadband availability.