Full fibre internet service provider Trooli has appointed a new chief operating officer.

The Kings Hill-based firm has promoted Brian O'Neill into the position - he was formerly the company's operations director.

He will report directly to chief executive Andy Conibere.

The firm has specialised in providing fast internet connections to rural areas often overlooked by the bigger providers.

It currently provides full fibre access to 170,000 premises and aims to reach 400,000 by the end of the year and at least one million by 2024.

Last year it secured an additional £67.5m from a consortium of commercial lenders, having previously received €30m (£26.8m) in backing from the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF).

Andy Conibere said: “Brian has been instrumental in driving our success to date and making us the highly respected company we are today.

“His promotion is not only well deserved, but an important step in enabling us to continue to grow at scale, whilst maintaining the high standards we set for our network and our customers.”

Prior to joining Trooli, Brian O’Neill was a senior leader with Vodafone, spending five years establishing a new mobile and fibre network in the Middle East. He has more than 25 years’ senior management experience, successfully leading people in international teams across the UK, Europe, and North America.

Brian O’Neill added: “I’m delighted to play a continued part of our growth and have full belief that we will continue to excel over the coming years.”