As many as 1.2 million additional premises will be able to access gigabit speed internet of 1,000 megabits per second. That’s enough to download an HD movie in less than 30 seconds, according to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.

The announcement is part of the government’s £5bn plan to level up internet access across the UK.

It will bring the total number of premises in scope for government-funded coverage to 2.2 million.

Almost half a million (480,000) premises in Shropshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Worcestershire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will be among the first to benefit from the upgrade.

The first areas earmarked to benefit under the scheme known as Project Gigabit were revealed in March. They are Essex, Dorset, Cumbria, Cambridgeshire, Northumberland, Durham, Tyneside, Teesside and Cornwall.

Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “Project Gigabit is our national mission to level up rural areas by giving them the fastest internet speeds on the market.

“Millions more rural homes and businesses will now be lifted out of the digital slow lane thanks to our mammoth £5bn 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.”

It has also been confirmed that the Scottish and Welsh governments and 15 English councils have made at least an extra £26m available in top-ups to the UK Government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. The scheme, which is available nationwide, covers the costs of a gigabit connection in areas that are particularly difficult to reach, and the top-ups boost the financial help available.