Fujitsu is to create a superfast broadband network for rural parts of the UK, rivalling BT's service.
Virgin Media and TalkTalk have already said they will use it to provide internet services. It will also be open to local authorities.
Much of the system will be built on BT infrastructure, such as underground ducting and phone poles, which it has been forced to open up to competitors.
Fujitsu wants �500m of government money to help fund the project.
The announcement comes as research suggests just 1% of UK households currently have access to superfast broadband.
The Fujitsu network will offer fibre optic cabling directly to homes - so-called Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH). That could bring speeds in excess of 1Gbps with the potential to go even faster.
The system would be more sophisticated than BT's superfast network, which relies mainly on slower Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) technology. FTTC offers speeds of up to 40Mbps.
Genuine choiceISPs, community groups and local authorities will be able to take advantage of the network.
Duncan Tait, chief executive of Fujitsu thinks it could breathe new life into rural communities.
"If done correctly this can be a key vehicle to accelerate recovery in the UK and bring genuine choice to generations of communities staved of participating fully in the UK economy," he said.
Virgin Media's chief executive Neil Berkett described it as: "a once in a lifetime opportunity to make the ambition of a digitally enabled society a reality beyond the country's cities and towns".
It is estimated that a third of the UK will not be served by existing commercial broadband solutions because it is not economically viable to offer them in remote areas.
Communication minister Ed Vaizey said the planned network was "exactly the sort of ambition and innovation" that the government wanted to stimulate.
Modest paceHowever, one sticking point could be the price BT is proposing to charge for access to its ducts and poles. It was forced to open them up to rivals but ISPs, including Virgin Media and Sky, have written to the government asking it to reassess the price.
In the letter, sent earlier this month, Virgin Media said it would be more cost-effective to build an entirely separate duct and pole network than pay the prices being asked by BT.
The government has said it wants to make the UK the best place in Europe for superfast broadband by 2015, but new research suggests that it is being adopted at a relatively modest pace.
Broadband analysis firm Point Topic found that just 1% of homes currently have broadband speeds of 25Mbps or above.
By the end of 2010, there were 175,000 superfast broadband lines, the majority made up from the 118,000 Virgin Media customers signed up for its 50Mbps broadband service. The rest came from BT or alternative operators.
"At that rate we should pass the quarter of a million milestone sometime between now and the end of April," said Point Topic chief analyst Tim Johnson.
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