Suffolk County Council (SCC) is the latest local authority to insist it is not backing down on its plans to bring super-fast broadband to the area.

Bosses at the administration put forward a bid for £20 million of financial support from Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) in order to assist with the rollout of the technology.

BDUK was established to allocate the £530 million that the government has ring-fenced to improve the country's existing broadband infrastructure.

However, Suffolk was overlooked in the latest round of funding announcements at the end of last month, with the combined £50 million of public money instead awarded to Devon and Somerset, Norfolk and Wiltshire.

Although it failed to secure the money, SCC has remained upbeat about its chances of meeting its ambitious broadband goals in the future.

Council leader Mark Bee insisted the authority is as committed as ever to achieving its goals and has been buoyed by the positive response it received from BDUK.

"We are hugely disappointed the government has not yet recognised Suffolk's need for better broadband and the serious financial and time commitment Suffolk's broadband partnership has shown to improving access for residents and businesses," he commented.

"Our next step is to work with BDUK and Suffolk's MPs to refine our approach and make sure we secure the funding we need as soon as possible."

With that in mind, the council is set to meet with BDUK later this month in order to get its bid back on track.

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has given a boost to the county's plans by revealing that every local authority across the country will be awarded some level of financial support by July.

Mr Hunt explained no more competitions for super-fast broadband pilots and other similar projects will be held, meaning councils will instead be given "certainty" on the amount of funding available to them.

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