INTERNET users in North Petherton will be among 36 extra communities in the South West to benefit from faster broadband, say BT.

Upgrades will be rolled out to a further 37,000 homes and businesses as part of BT’s next generation broadband service delivered over copper lines.

Rupert Cox, chief executive of the Somerset Chamber of Commerce, said: “More than ever, high speed communications are crucial in the fast-moving and changing world that we work and live in and I’m looking forward to the benefits this faster broadband will bring to the region.”

The BT investment will provide download speeds of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps) – more than double the fastest speed previously available from BT.

The faster broadband is already available to 81% of South West premises and by next spring this figure will have reached more than 84%.