EVERY home and business in one Herefordshire town could have access to faster broadband speeds as a 12-month upgrade gets underway.

Wholesalers Full Fibre Limited said it has been picking market towns as most fibre networks are being centered around urban areas.

That's why the company says Leominster was selected, and it should soon have broadband speeds of at least 940 Megabits per second.

Figures from the House of Commons library showed the average download speed across the North Herefordshire constituency was 45.9 Megabits per second – though this varied between 62.6 Mbps in Lugwardine, Withington and Moreton-on-Lugg, and 33.8 Mbps in Leominster South.

It means once the new fibre service is installed, hugely improved speeds will be available.

The north Herefordshire town was in the first round of announcements by the fibre broadband company, which announced plans to offer supercharged connectivity to 100,000 UK homes and businesses this year.

"Deployment has already started in parts of Leominster, with the entire town to be completed within the next 12 months," a spokesperson said.

"Leominster is one of the 11 market towns that have previously been overlooked by other major infrastructure providers who have concentrated on the larger cities.

"Now these unserved areas will benefit from Full Fibre’s latest build plans within the next 12 months.

"Full Fibre is backed by the international investment fund Basalt, who have carefully selected Leominster to mark the start of Full Fibre’s 2025 goal of reaching over 500,000 premises.

"The UK is delivering more and more gigabit infrastructure, but with the majority of fibre being built in dense urban areas and cities, the urban / rural digital divide continues.

"With the impacts of Covid-19 still very much around, Full Fibre’s Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) investment into these market towns will unlock social mobility and will fuel a much-needed economic recovery."

By having access to a new, fibre-optic connection, residents and business will have access to faster broadband, including faster downloads, seamless streaming, uninterrupted calls, and a future-proof connection that is not affected by the time of day or weather.

"The new infrastructure will help rebuild communities that have been impacted by the lockdowns," the spokesperson added.

"Local schools, hospitality, high streets, offices and those working from home will be taken into the new digital age, helping to kickstart the local economy as we begin to leave Covid-19 restrictions behind."

As a wholesale infrastructure builder, Full Fibre said it is passionate about providing end-users with choice of providers and a competitive marketplace that will drive innovation, better customer service and ultimately, deliver better value for money for all.