Government claims four out of five UK properties can access 'superfast' broadband

Another two million homes and businesses connected to internet with speeds of at least 24Mbps and government claims it will focus on final five per cent of UK

The government has claimed that four out of five UK properties can now access superfast speeds, after an additional two million UK homes and businesses were connected to a faster internet connection in the past two years.

The government said that ‘superfast' access - internet with speeds greater than 24Mbps - was being delivered to properties not covered by existing commercial networks, and that it was on track to make sure access to these speeds would be available to 95 per cent of the UK by 2017.

Only last week, MPs expressed concerns over whether the most remote parts of the country will be left further behind in what has become known as the "digital divide" between rural areas and cities, but the government insisted it was now focused on delivering faster broadband to the final five per cent of the UK.

An Ofcom report published in December seemed to corroborate the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee's concerns. It found that three per cent of premises in the UK still receive internet speeds of less than 2Mbps, while 15 per cent have speeds no higher than 10Mbps.

The government maintains that its £1.7bn investment will ensure that an additional 40,000 homes and businesses every week will be connected to superfast broadband.

"Today there are two million more UK homes and businesses with access to superfast broadband than there were two years ago as a result of this ambitious project," said culture secretary Sajid Javid.

"This is a tremendous result that is already making a huge difference to millions of people. We want everyone in the UK to be able to enjoy the benefits of superfast broadband, that's why we've begun work on reaching the last five per cent of communities not covered by existing plans," he added.

Last year, MPs criticised the government for effectively handing BT a taxpayer-funded monopoly on rural broadband.

In 2013, the National Audit Office claimed that BT overestimated the cost of the rollout by up to £92m. But BT responded to subsequent criticism by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee by stating that it was good news for the taxpayer that the project was under budget because it only charges for the costs it incurs rather than those it forecasts.