It said that while it was more complex and costly to provide fibre to rural residents, it had been busy “scouting the world for the very best and latest tools and techniques to help us meet that challenge.”

In a series of trials, Openreach tried various technologies to ease the full-fibre rollout. ‘Diamond cutters’, basically giant rotating blades that can slice through roads and pavements, were used to lower the time it takes to deploy fibre cables.

Drones were also used to fly fibre cables across rivers and valleys, while ground-penetrating radar was deployed to guide its diggers.

The infrastructure firm has a lot of work to complete in the next few years if Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s commitment of universal full-fibre broadband by 2025 is to be met.

Openreach has in the past been criticised for stifling competition in the broadband market due to its monopolistic control over much of the telecommunications infrastructure.

This ultimately led to its separation from BT in 2017, although this newfound independence is somewhat marred by the fact that BT kept the network assets and Openreach is still wholly owned by BT’s parent company BT Group.

The new locations expected to receive the full fibre rollout in the coming year including Aberdare in South Wales and Saxmundham in Suffolk.

Openreach chief executive Clive Selley said: “Our full-fibre build programme is going great guns, having passed over two million premises already on the way to our four million target by March 2021.

“We’re now building at around 26,000 premises a week in over 100 locations, reaching a new home or business every 23 seconds. That’s up from 13,000 premises a week this time last year.

“Openreach has always been committed to doing our bit in rural Britain, delivering network upgrades in communities that are harder to reach and less densely populated.

“We intend to build a significant portion of our full-fibre network in these harder-to-reach areas of the UK and are announcing 227 locations today.

“Our ambition is to reach 15 million premises by mid-2020s if right investment conditions are in place.

“Currently, the biggest missing piece of this puzzle is getting an exemption from business rates on building fibre cables, which is critical for any fibre-builder’s long-term investment case.”

Felicity Burch, director of digital and innovation at business organisation the CBI, said: “We welcome Openreach’s plan to expand its full-fibre network, using the double boost of investment and innovation to deliver fast, reliable connectivity to rural communities, from South Wales to Suffolk.

“For employers, this will support flexible working, quicken adoption of new technologies and spur on regional economic growth.

“It’s now vital the Government’s £5 billion funding for broadband is spent in the hardest-to-reach parts of the UK, hitting the 2025 target of gigabit-capable connectivity nationwide.”

Last week MPs debated a new bill in parliament that should make it easier for telecommunications firms to access properties in order to upgrade the internet service.

It said that while it was more complex and costly to provide fibre to rural residents, it had been busy “scouting the world for the very best and latest tools and techniques to help us meet that challenge.”

In a series of trials, Openreach tried various technologies to ease the full-fibre rollout. ‘Diamond cutters’, basically giant rotating blades that can slice through roads and pavements, were used to lower the time it takes to deploy fibre cables.

Drones were also used to fly fibre cables across rivers and valleys, while ground-penetrating radar was deployed to guide its diggers.

The infrastructure firm has a lot of work to complete in the next few years if Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s commitment of universal full-fibre broadband by 2025 is to be met.

Openreach has in the past been criticised for stifling competition in the broadband market due to its monopolistic control over much of the telecommunications infrastructure.

This ultimately led to its separation from BT in 2017, although this newfound independence is somewhat marred by the fact that BT kept the network assets and Openreach is still wholly owned by BT’s parent company BT Group.

The new locations expected to receive the full fibre rollout in the coming year including Aberdare in South Wales and Saxmundham in Suffolk.

Openreach chief executive Clive Selley said: “Our full-fibre build programme is going great guns, having passed over two million premises already on the way to our four million target by March 2021.

“We’re now building at around 26,000 premises a week in over 100 locations, reaching a new home or business every 23 seconds. That’s up from 13,000 premises a week this time last year.

“Openreach has always been committed to doing our bit in rural Britain, delivering network upgrades in communities that are harder to reach and less densely populated.

“We intend to build a significant portion of our full-fibre network in these harder-to-reach areas of the UK and are announcing 227 locations today.

“Our ambition is to reach 15 million premises by mid-2020s if right investment conditions are in place.

“Currently, the biggest missing piece of this puzzle is getting an exemption from business rates on building fibre cables, which is critical for any fibre-builder’s long-term investment case.”

Felicity Burch, director of digital and innovation at business organisation the CBI, said: “We welcome Openreach’s plan to expand its full-fibre network, using the double boost of investment and innovation to deliver fast, reliable connectivity to rural communities, from South Wales to Suffolk.

“For employers, this will support flexible working, quicken adoption of new technologies and spur on regional economic growth.

“It’s now vital the Government’s £5 billion funding for broadband is spent in the hardest-to-reach parts of the UK, hitting the 2025 target of gigabit-capable connectivity nationwide.”

Last week MPs debated a new bill in parliament that should make it easier for telecommunications firms to access properties in order to upgrade the internet service.