HIGH speed broadband will be piloted in Greater Manchester.

The first stage of a £200 million scheme to bring the fastest and most reliable broadband to businesses schools kicked off over the weekend.

It is the first step in a £200million programme that will see incredibly reliable connection that can offer speeds of one gigabit.

Test projects are taking place in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, West Sussex, Coventry and Warwickshire, Bristol and Bath and North East Somerset and West Yorkshire as well as Greater Manchester.

It is part of the government's four-year plan to stimulate the market and encourage the growth of full fibre up and down the country.

The technology could allow hospital to share HD quality graphics of medical scans in seconds to improve diagnosis speeds, businesses to reach more customers online and school classrooms to see a vast increase in the number of pupils who can stream educational videos at the same time.

The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Jones MP, said: "How we live and work today is directly affected by how good our broadband connection is. Reliable connections enable new industries to flourish, help create jobs and give people flexibility in how and where they work."