Harriett Baldwin MP has welcomed a pilot scheme which will help rural communities to get fast broadband connections. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has announced a £10 million trial to fund projects which help rural areas to get online. Worcestershire boasts a number of innovative independent solutions including Martley Mesh, which offers a wi-fi connection to hundreds of homes in the village as well as schemes in Little Witley and the Teme Valley. The County Council and BT are rolling out a £10 million project to enhance the county's broadband speeds but not all communities are expected to be covered by the plan. The Government has committed £880 million help connect 95 per cent of UK homes and businesses onto superfast broadband connections by 2017 and has added a further £100 million into a scheme to help small and medium sized businesses to take advantage of fast fibre-optic connections. Harriett commented: “The Government has allocated significant sums of money into schemes to get the country connected to superfast broadband. “The BT project will take some time to complete and I am pleased to see a pilot which will help organisations like Martley Mesh to see how they can help other communities to get online fast. “Often small and independent operations can bring swift solutions to bear and Overbury was able to get fibre direct to each home by working together. This new cash will help small projects to get underway in the more remote parts of the county. “I hope that this is the year when our rural communities are able to make some huge steps forward catching up with the speeds already available in major cities.”