THOUSANDS or business and homeowners in Maldon are set to receive superfast broadband following a £5million investment.

The Superfast Essex programme has received the multi-million pound grant from Defra's Rural Development Programme for England to bring new broadband speeds to 1,000 rural businesses in Essex.

A further 2,700 homes will also benefit from the huge new contract between Superfast Essex and the developers of the new technology, Openreach.

Work is due to start in Maldon in July next year, with the works to be completed by March 2021.

Lesley Wagland, chairman of the Superfast Essex board, said: “This is fantastic news for Essex. Full fibre broadband is the next step in connectivity and future-proofed for years to come.

"It will help rural businesses to grow and thrive in the growing digital market.

"It’s great to know that residents in rural areas will also benefit from this new phase of work.

"Improved broadband connectivity brings with it better access to online public services and greater social and business opportunities all of which contribute to a better quality of life which is what we want for our residents.”

Maldon is part of the fourth phase of network upgrades, with many other areas in the county including; Castle Point, Colchester, Rochford and Tendring.

The works will be completed using the latest ultrafast Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology.

The new technology will mean a family of four can all stream ultra HD or 4K quality movies or TV at the same time, with no waiting or buffering.

So far, the Superfast Essex programme has supplied new broadband for 125,000 homes in Essex.

Carl Sproston, regional partnership director for Openreach, said: “We are proud of the work we’ve already done in Essex both commercially and in partnership with Essex County Council, and we’re delighted to be bringing our full fibre technology to even more people living and working in the county, making a huge difference to their lives.

“This is all made possible by our engineering workforce.

"We employ over 3,200 people in the East of England and have employed 123 new engineering recruits from Essex alone in the last 15 months.

"It was great to show our partners at Essex County Council and Superfast Essex around our purpose-built training centre at Peterborough, which is where all local recruits will receive their training.

"Like us, the recruits are keen to get out there and start building our 21st century infrastructure to more people in Essex.”