Superfast broadband has been made available to a further 1,450 households and businesses in 25 Cornish communities.

It is the start of the next phase of the fibre broadband roll-out in Cornwall, which will see £7.6 million invested to reach more than 8,000 further premises in some of the county’s most challenging locations by early 2018.

In this latest phase, Cornwall Council and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is investing alongside the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme and BT.

It follows the £132 million first phase of the Superfast Cornwall programme, funded by the EU, BT and Cornwall Council, which made Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly one of the best digitally connected rural areas in Europe with 95% fibre broadband coverage and nearly one in three Cornish households and businesses having access to ultrafast speeds due to the widespread availability of fibre to the premises (FTTP) broadband.

Julian German, Cornwall Council’s cabinet member for economy and culture, said: “Cornwall Council remains committed to the challenging target of ensuring that every property has access to fast, reliable broadband, and these latest areas to be enabled represent another step forward into some of the most challenging rural parts of Cornwall.”

Mark Duddridge, chairman of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, added: “Superfast broadband is critical to developing our fast-growing digital economy which is why the LEP is investing £1.5 million from our Growth Deal and the Regional Growth Fund as part of this latest roll-out.”

Areas to benefit from the latest roll out include: Tregony; North Tamerton; Lanivet; Carkeel; Brighton, near Rumford; Golitha Rise and Heathlands Business Park, Liskeard; Four Lanes and Sandy Lane near Redruth; Connor Downs near Camborne; Tresean/Treworgans, near Crantock; Trevelmond and Pengelly, near Dobwalls; Lanjeth near St Austell; Stoke Climsland; Widegates; Turfdown, Helland and Treffry, near Bodmin; Trebetherick; No Mans Land, Lower Clicker and Morval, near Widegates; Latchbrook, Saltash; and Fraddon.