THOUSANDS of people in rural Herefordshire are set to gain access to faster broadband.

New details published this week reveal that up to 64,600 rural homes and businesses in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire are to be connected to faster internet speeds, as part of the government's £5 billion Project Gigabit.

Herefordshire is one of 10 regions in the UK which will benefit from the project.

The aim of the project is to build new internet infrastructure to reach homes and businesses that are not currently due for a gigabit upgrade from broadband companies or other public schemes.

The gigabit internet is, with download speeds of 1,000 megabits per second, the fastest available level of broadband, according to price comparison site Uswitch.

The government expects to invest between £67 million and £113 million to connect hard-to-reach homes and businesses in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

“We’re investing tens of millions in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to put an end to the digital divide where rural farms or villages cannot access the quality broadband available in many towns and cities," said digital secretary, Nadine Dorris.

The process of delivering the connections will begin between February and April 2023, with work set to start between January and March 2024.

The exact areas that will benefit in the region will be announced after the project has gone out to tender for broadband companies to deliver them.