A NEW multi-million pound investment has been announced to improve broadband connections in the region.

Superfast Worcestershire say the £6.2 million expansion is expected to extend the superfast broadband roll-out to more than 5,300 further Worcestershire households and businesses.

Worcestershire County Council has signed a new contract with co-funding partner BT Group, to reach some of the county’s more remote communities.

When work is complete, more than 96 per cent of Worcestershire homes and businesses will be able to access superfast broadband.

Councillor Ken Pollock, Worcestershire County Council cabinet member responsible for economy and infrastructure, said: "The county council's continued commitment to improve the level of broadband coverage in Worcestershire shows that we recognise access to high-speed broadband is crucial for residents and businesses alike.

"These new contracts prove that we are determined to be one of the best connected counties in the UK, and I'm delighted that our programme is going further."

Yet the roll-out will include a mixture of buried Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) technology and overhead Fibre-To-The-Cabinet (FTTC) technology.

The latter delivery method has previously come under fire from residents in Dodford in Bromsgrove for being unreliable and weather dependent.

They were set to receive FTTP from another firm, Gigaclear, in September, and featured in the Advertiser when the company pulled out due to a row with the council over construction methods.