Local investment to boost south-east broadband speeds

Kent county council is providing over £100,000 of investment to help provide better broadband connection speeds in the south-east, according to yourcanterbury.co.uk.

Kings Hill in west Malling, Selling near Canterbury and Iwade near Sittingbourne will get as much as £50,000 each to help set up faster broadband connections and allow users to download web content faster as well as potentially having better use of VoIP solutions.

Womenswold, situated between Dover and Canterbury, and Crockham Hill near Westerham could also benefit depending on how much money is left from the previous installations.

A spokesman from Kent county council told the website: "The maximum amount of grant is £50,000, due to state aid regulations. Depending on costs, it is possible that there will be money left in the budget for other areas."

Faversham MP Hugh Robertson praised the funding announcement, telling the website that a large number of people in the region could benefit from faster broadband.

The government has indicated it may partly fund next-generation broadband roll-out across the UK, although responsibility has also been allocated to internet service providers.