More than 117,000 homes and businesses in Kent not covered by commercial networks have been connected to superfast broadband services, government figures show today.

It is part of a programme to provide fast internet speeds to 3.5 million properties and firms across the country. Of these, 300,000 are in the south east.

The rollout is delivering internet speeds greater than 24 megabits per second (Mbps) to properties not included in existing commercial operations and is on schedule to take superfast access to 95 per cent of the UK by December 2017.

Digital economy minister Ed Vaizey described it as one of the biggest and most challenging infrastructure projects undertaken by Government in recent times.

"We need to keep the UK moving with the demands of the digital age, and our tremendous progress throughout 2015 has equipped businesses with the tools they need to grow, and homes with the technology to be part of our online global community," he added.

Every home and firm is now guaranteed a minimum connection speed of 2Mbs and the government is aiming to give people the legal right to request 10 megabits per second (Mbps) regardless of where they live.