WIGHTFIBRE has announce more than 40,000 Isle of Wight premises can now receive its full-fibre broadband service.

This includes availability for the first time in Ventnor, Lake, Nettlestone and Seaview.

The majority of homes in Sandown and Shanklin are also ready for service, the broadband provider said.

Cables have already been laid to a further 10,000 homes, with service to those buildings scheduled to become available over the summer.

It means WightFibre’s Gigabit Island Project is well over the half-way mark, with a total of 460km of trenches dug to date.

The company expects service to be available to 60,000 premises by the end of the year, and to 75,000 homes by the end of 2023, with an ultimate target of around 80,000 premises.

John Irvine, WightFibre chief executive said: “We are really pleased to have connected our first full-fibre customers in Ventnor and Seaview.

"We expect the network build across the Island to be largely complete by the end of 2023."

WightFibre’s full-fibre broadband is live in Cowes, East Cowes, Newport, Wootton, Ryde, Lake, Nettlestone, Seaview, Sandown, Shanklin, Ventnor, and is about to go live in Freshwater and Yarmouth.

Work on WightFibre’s Gigabit Island Project is ongoing in St Helens, Bembridge, Brading, and numerous other towns and villages across the Island.