Northamptonshire County Council signs £16.2m broadband deal
BT has been given the task of rolling out superfast broadband across Northamptonshire.
A contract worth £16.2m has been signed with the telecoms company and the county council.
It means broadband will be provided in areas of the county not catered for commercially.
About 53,000 homes and businesses should have speeds of at least 24 megabytes per second, with basic broadband available to all by 2015.
Work will start on the project immediately.
Andre Gonzalez De Savage, the cabinet member for infrastructure, said: "Having widely available superfast broadband is essential if we are to compete in the digital global economy."
BT will contribute £8m to the project whilst £4m will each come from the government's Broadband Delivery UK programme and the county council.