Working in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Leicestershire will be the first county in the country to roll out 'GigaHubs'.

'Gigahubs' are designed to significantly improve broadband access and speeds in rural areas.

This £1.55 million in DCMS funding is part of Project Gigabit, the Government's £5 billion programme to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband to hard-to-reach areas of the UK.

This scheme will improve connectivity across thousands of public sector buildings including schools, GP surgeries and libraries.

Rutland and Melton MP Alicia Kearns, said: "It is fantastic to hear that members of our rural communities, families and businesses will be the first to benefit from these improved broadband speeds of up to 1,000mbps – the fastest connectivity currently available. This new infrastructure will incentivise vital new investment in our remote communities and boost productivity in businesses and schools across Leicestershire."

But what does this mean for rural Rutland?

Unfortunately, there is no word yet on when Rutland may be dragged into this twenty-first century project.

For now Oakham residents can rest assured that new providers are entering the county, with one new supplier, Upp, being announced at last week's Oakham Town Council meeting:

An Upp representative spoke at the meeting before the heated Oakham Skatepark Project vote, sharing that the company were excited to be introducing new services - which will be a relief particularly to those in Barleythorpe, who often voice frustration on social media of limited network providers and slow connectivity.

Upp is already live in seven towns and plans to deploy its full-fibre broadband to over 1 million homes by 2025, providing hundreds of jobs along the way. 

But why is Upp different? 

Many broadband providers use a mixture of outdated copper cabling and some fibre wiring. This is known as Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC). Upp's next level broadband is built using full fibre all the way to your premises (known as FTTP), meaning you don't share your connection with anyone else on your street, and it provides speeds of up to 900Mbps for both downloads and uploads. 

Upp's CEO Drew Ritchie said, "It's fantastic to see the rapid expansion of Upp's network across Norfolk, so we can offer our full-fibre connection to an increasing number of homes across the county. For years now, far too many homes have struggled with poor and inadequate broadband, but it's great that Upp's network is already making a difference."

Find out more about this new provider here.