A £10m government fund aims to help bring faster broadband to Britain's most isolated rural areas.

The money will fund alternative technology providers who come up with innovative ideas to take superfast broadband to the most remote communities, said culture secretary Maria Miller.

By March 2014, the new £10 million fund would enable a range of pilot projects to be undertaken up and down the country, she added.

The government was seeking the most effective way to ensure that the most remote areas were included in the broadband transformation taking place across Britain.

Potential technologies that could be piloted under the new fund for remote areas include:

* Using 4G mobile signal to deliver 'fixed wireless' superfast broadband'.
* Using fibre direct to premises.
* Taking fibre from broadband cabinets to a distribution point further down the network, increasing speeds by reducing the reliance on copper.
* Satellite technology.

The fund will open on 17 March 2014 and the government is asking local authorities to offer support to these pilot projects.

Ms Miller said the money would help ensure that people are not left living in the 'digital slow lane' simply because of their post code.

"Our nationwide rollout of superfast broadband will benefit everyone from school children to business owners, parents to patients.

"An estimated 10,000 homes and businesses are gaining access to superfast speeds every week but now we need to focus on the hardest to reach communities."

The government's ambitious broadband programme was already on track to deliver superfast speeds to 95% of the UK by 2017, she added.

The programme was well underway and current progress was exceeding expectations – so now the focus was shifting to the hardest and most remote five per cent of premises in Britain.

Suppliers bidding for funding will need to provide a description of their proposed project, including the costs and the outputs.

Proposals will be assessed on the basis of criteria such as the quality and prospect of solutions being able to scale up and connect the final 5% most difficult to reach communities.