Rural settlements across the county will receive ultrafast broadband and network after an internet service provider received a multi million-pound investment.

County Broadband, in Aldham, received £46 million from Aviva Investors that will be used to boost several underserved communities and businesses.

Many remote rural communities still suffer from so-called ‘broadband black spots’ due to old copper-wire telephone cables dating back to Victorian times.

County Broadband is doubling its workforce over the next few months and in the process of hosting village meetings to discover more about the net network.

CEO of County Broadband, Lloyd Felton, said the investment will help support economic growth throughout East Anglia and improve residents’ quality of life.

“Since securing the investment, we have been identifying target areas,” he said.

“Many premises might have access to broadband, but the ultrafast speeds that we will all soon need are only available to around six per cent of the UK.

“Household usage and data consumption is already predicted to increase 10-fold every six years and only ultrafast solutions will match this requirement.”

Research also shows two thirds of customers who have existing so called ‘fibre services’ are have none at all, only standard copper telephone lines.

County Broadband’s ‘Fibre-To-The-Premises’ network delivers speeds of up to 1,000Mbps (gigabit) per second more than 20 times faster than the UK average.

Mr Felton added: “Aviva Investors’ recognise the vital need for future proof fibre infrastructure and their funding supports our strategy to service more than 30,000 homes and businesses in the region.”

The network provider is also offering residents and businesses a free connection by pre-ordering their ultrafast broadband.