Up to 120,000 homes in Warwickshire and Leicestershire are set to benefit from nearly £200 million worth of investment in broadband speed.

As part of the government's £5 billion Project Gigabit, rural homes and businesses will receive next-generation gigabit broadband to ensure that they are not left out by broadband providers.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has identified 118,400 homes in hard-to-reach areas in Warwickshire and Leicestershire which could be deemed 'commercially unviable' and therefore ignored by big companies.

However, homeowners will still have to wait a while for the changes. The works contract, worth £114 million to £194 million, will be not be awarded until November 2022 with the project due to start in October of 2023.

Once works are completed though, available speeds will increase significantly to more than one gigabit per second - enough to download a HD movie in less than 30 seconds and lay the foundations for future technology such as 8K-quality video streaming.

Digital secretary Oliver Dowden said: "Rural communities in the East Midlands will be among the millions across the UK to get lightning-fast gigabit broadband through the government's Project Gigabit.

"The £5 billion plan is investing in hard-to-reach areas and drawing in commercial providers to improve the quality and speed of connections, which is at the heart of our national mission to level up the regions and build back better."

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