More than £1.3m has been awarded to Surrey County Council (SCC) to help reach 100 per cent superfast broadband coverage by 2013.

The Government money will be used to connect parts of Surrey missing out on BT’s national roll-out of superfast broadband by 2012, which is thought to be about 20 per cent.

SCC leader Dr Andrew Povey said: “This is good news for Surrey’s residents and businesses. I’m delighted we have been successful in getting £1.3m towards our goal to connect the whole Surrey.

“Poor broadband coverage and slow speeds hold back local businesses and put rural areas at a disadvantage. We are determined to ensure Surrey’s economy continues to thrive.”

Last year the council signed up for Race Online to get as many people using the internet as possible by the end of 2012, which has already helped more than 20,000 getting online.

Superfast broadband benefits enable users to send and receive large amounts of data quickly.

A music album can be downloaded within 30 seconds and a feature length movie in five minutes.