MORE of Hampshire will soon be getting superfast broadband.

But swathes are still languishing in the slow lane.

It is good news for Itchen Abbas, much of the Itchen Valley, New and Old Alresford, Bighton and Bishop’s Sutton.

Phase Four of Hampshire’s Superfast Broadband Programme is set to provide access to an additional 10,500 homes and businesses between October 2014 and March 2015.

But not included are Sparsholt, Hursley, Easton, Cheriton and Bramdean.

The programme, delivered by Openreach - BT’s local network business, is helping to fill the gap in rural areas beyond the private sector’s commercial plans.

It aims to provide at least 95 per cent of all premises in Hampshire with access to superfast broadband by the end of 2017.

County council leader, Roy Perry, said: “We are now half-way through our programme and a total of approximately 59,000 homes will have been upgraded by the end of 2015 - in some of the most rural parts of Hampshire.”

Peter Cowen, BT’s regional partnership director, said: “This is excellent news for Hampshire, and another important milestone for a partnership which is making real progress. This popular technology can help homes access leisure and entertainment choices at the click of a button, whilst businesses can grow and boost the local economy.”

Parts of Winchester city centre are also to be upgraded. It includes areas served by the cabinets at 6 Southgate Street, outside the police station on North Walls, Debenhams, Bilberry Court on Staple Gardens, Stockbridge Road at its junction with Stoney Lane and the High Street opposite Trafalgar Street.

People using superfast broadband are able to use multiple bandwidth-hungry applications at the same time and send and receive large amounts of data much more quickly and efficiently.

New Superfast Broadband services are set to transform the way households use the internet, from the simple sharing of pictures and video, and on-line learning and research, to enjoying the growing boom in entertainment services available on-line.