The Government is to spend £830 million in a drive to give the UK the best broadband network in Europe by 2015, it has been announced.
An action plan entitled Britain's Superfast Broadband Future, published by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, sets out the ambition to create a "digital hub" in every community in the country by the end of this Parliament.
Linked to the nearest exchange by high-speed connections, the hubs would allow communities to extend the internet network to every home.
Mr Hunt said the plan aimed to stimulate private sector investment and cut barriers to business investment in the reliable and secure superfast network which ministers regard as vital to the UK's economic growth.
Ministers will invest £50 million in a second wave of pilot projects to test how digital hubs can be extended to all communities, including those in remote rural areas.
