Openreach has outlined plans to provide full fibre broadband to 551 more towns and cities across the UK, covering around five million homes and businesses.

The move is part of the company’s £15 billion programme to reach 25 million premises, as it makes new gigabit-capable technology available to 43,000 premises every week.

The latest areas include Bournemouth in Dorset, Dunfermline in Scotland, Kettering in Northamptonshire, Sunderland in the North East, and Wrexham in Wales.

The work will start later this year.

Openreach chief executive Clive Selley said: “Our engineers and build partners are working flat-out to deliver this life-changing technology to rural, urban and suburban communities all over the country, and we’re delighted to be fleshing out our plans with more details about where and when we’ll be building.”