By Hayley Robinson

Super fast broadband is coming to Iwade.

After years of campaigning for a better service villagers are set to benefit from super-fast fibre technology, thanks to a £50,000 grant from Kent County Council and BT agreeing to provide further investment and carry out the work.

It means by the autumn all 1,350 premises in Iwade will have access to fibre broadband speeds of up to 40Mbp/s.

Residents will be served by the neighbouring telephone exchange in Sittingbourne, which has already been selected for an upgrade to fibre broadband by BT.

The extra funding from BT and KCC will pay for the installation of additional fibre from the Sittingbourne exchange to all four telephone cabinets in Iwade.

BT is investing £2.5 billion to deliver fibre based broadband to two-thirds of the UK by 2015 but Iwade did not feature in its original fibre roll-out plans as it is too expensive to install the wires in rural areas. But KCC's additional funding to bridge the gap means the village will now be put firmly on the UK's fibre broadband map.

Nicola McKenzie, broadband committee co-ordinator for Iwade Parish Council, said: "As a broadband committee we have worked hard to reach this critical point, giving Iwade residents and businesses the option to sign up to super-fast broadband at such an early stage.

"Local homes and businesses are relying more and more on broadband internet services. The faster connections offered by fibre broadband will allow local people to get even more out of their broadband connection."

Cllr Andrew Bowles, leader of Swale council, said: "We are delighted to welcome the investment in broadband in Iwade. The increased availability of broadband in Swale is something that will not only help people to learn new skills but will also demonstrate that Swale is a place in which businesses are supported."

BT says it is prepared to invest in other parts of Swale if public or private funding is available.

Among the many homes and businesses in the area that stand to benefit from the technology is nursery Ickle Pickles in School Mews, off School Lane.

The nursery provides a webcam service to parents to help them keep an eye on their child throughout the day. A high speed fibre broadband connection will give local parents even greater peace of mind with a better view of what their offspring are up to.

Local businessman Scott Anderson is also excited about the prospects of receiving fibre broadband.

Mr Anderson, who runs a high-end catering business, relies heavily on access to an online database. Fibre broadband will provide him with faster and more reliable access to the database, allowing him to offer a better service to his customers.