TAKE-up of superfast broadband from internet providers in North Yorkshire has reached 51 per cent – one of the highest in the country.

Phases one and two of the Superfast North Yorkshire project undertaken by North Yorkshire County Council and its wholly-owned company NYnet have brought superfast broadband availability to more than 90 per cent of homes and businesses in the county.

This will rise to 95 per cent with the completion of the £20.5 million phase three in 2021.

Take-up of the superfast offer by the county's residents and businesses from internet providers has now exceeded 50 per cent – about 15 per cent above the national average.

The Superfast North Yorkshire project is achieving 1,500 connections every month.

Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for broadband, said: “One thousand five hundred connections a month shows what a great investment this is for the taxpayer.

"Take-up in our county is one of the highest in the country.

“The benefits of high quality broadband are enormous - for families, students and pupils, health and social care workers and businesses alike.

"The people of North Yorkshire are ahead of the game and have a strong appetite for superfast connectivity.

"This shouldn’t come as a surprise given their resilient and creative nature.

“The latest phase of expansion is now under way and will bring the best available technology, fibre to the premise, to some of our most remote rural areas, whose patience will be rewarded with some of the fastest broadband available anywhere in the country."