A company in Oxfordshire is working to improve broadband coverage in rural areas.

In an editorial piece featured in the Oxford Mail, reporter Dan Robinson visited areas in the county without a steady internet connection and saw how investments from the Cotswold Broadband Group were benefiting locals.

Hugo Pickering, who founded the group, said his main priority is to help people access the internet as if it was a fourth utility - making it just as important as electricity, water and gas.

Recently released figures from Ofcom have shown that 73 per cent of UK homes and businesses can access speeds of 24Mbps, but in Oxfordshire this falls to 69.5 per cent.

Mr Pickering said: "In hamlets and villages their speed can be between 0.5Mbps to 2Mbps but it’s just not acceptable to customers [that this is the case]."

Rural areas across the UK are seeing similar schemes put in place to help homeowners access high-speed broadband, but logistical problems have resulted in slow progress in many areas.

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