BRADLEY villagers are being catapulted into the superfast broadband era with the introduction of new wireless technology.

The village is helping to trial ultra quick wireless broadband being introduced by Boundless Networks, based in Leeds and Chorley, which aims to bring superfast technology to rural parts of North Yorkshire.

The work by Boundless is allowing the village to access the internet at speeds in excess of 160 Megabits per second (Mbps) - twice as fast as BT’s Infinity product and six times faster than the Government’s superfast target speed of 30Mbps.

Brian Wilson, director at Rural England, said there was an urgent need for better broadband in rural communities where pupils were at a disadvantage compared to their urban dwelling peers who were better able to access online learning resources and carry out research-based projects.

Mr Wilson, who wrote the State of Rural Services 2016 report, said: “A lack of a fast broadband connection is an issue in a lot of rural places. It is expanding but it is still the case that about a quarter of homes will be unable to get a broadband connection."

Boundless Chairman, David Hood, who lives in Craven, said: “Being able to go way beyond the Government’s target of 30Mbps is a huge benefit to rural communities.

"Not only can we deliver the superfast target, we can future proof the service so that children in rural areas, like Bradley, don’t need to play catch up with their classmates. Wireless ultrafast broadband is able to deliver this and Boundless is leading the way in delivering it.”

The ultrafast service will be rolled out by the company across North Yorkshire over the next two years and will remove the need for homes and businesses to wait for the Government’s Universal Service Obligation of 10Mbps.

Boundless has been helping individuals, communities, businesses and local authorities receive superfast broadband technology in poorly serviced rural areas since 2006.

The Government has proposed that every Briton should have the legal right to request access to internet speeds of 10Mbps by 2020. In December, Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, revealed that a quarter of all properties in rural areas – close to a million in total – do not have decent broadband.