NorthumberlandNorthumberland councillors have been informed that as many as 10,000 homes across the county will not have access to broadband speeds of 15 Mbps or above by 2017.

Under plans revealed by the last government, 95 per cent of homes in the UK will be given access to superfast speeds, which is anything above 24 Mbps, but it appears this won't be the case for some properties in Northumberland, reports the Northumberland Gazette.Northumberland, reports the Northumberland Gazette.

John Cooper, of iNorthumberland, which is the scheme that should be rolling out improved connectivity to the county, made the announcement last Monday (May 11th) during the north area committee meeting in Warkworth.

He told the audience that the affected homes would be spread across the region rather than in a single concentrated area, but added that his organisation is currently attempting to rectify the situation.

“We are trying to secure additional funding, use clawback funding from high levels of take-up to reinvest, help businesses to access connection vouchers for wireless or fibre-leased line services and support access to satellite-broadband systems,” Mr Cooper explained to the newspaper.

Glen Sanderson, a councillor for Northumberland, said the progress being made on improving the community's access to superfast broadband speeds is welcome, but expressed his concerns about the 10,000 properties that will be left in the lurch.Northumberland, said the progress being made on improving the community's access to superfast broadband speeds is welcome, but expressed his concerns about the 10,000 properties that will be left in the lurch.

He said: "These people need to know what their position is and the timescales they may or may not be working to."

At the end of May, it is expected that a contract will be signed with BT for the second phase of iNorthumberland broadband roll out. The areas that are likely to feel the benefit of this over the next two years include Lucker, Denwick, Craster, Rennington and Rock, among other places, as well as plugging the gaps in Belford.

Many remote communities in the UK will be in the same position as the homes in Northumberland, as the government roll out will leave five per cent of premises without superfast speeds.Northumberland, as the government roll out will leave five per cent of premises without superfast speeds.

These homes may have to look at alternative ways of improving the quality of their connectivity, such as satellite broadband, which is a viable option, particularly for those that live in rural parts of the UK.