HATHERLEIGH residents are hoping to hook the town up to the high speed Broadband revolution.

Seventy-eight residents in and around Hatherleigh have already registered with BT to become ?Broadband enabled?.

Now, a group of enthusiasts are hoping to boost the town?s chances of getting faster internet access soon by calling a public meeting to be held next Monday, February 2.

The meeting, in the Old School in Hatherleigh, starts at 7.30pm, and will inform people about the benefits of Broadband ? it gives faster Internet access ? and the different ways it can be brought to the area.

Geoff Hodgkinson who runs a china shop in Bridge Street, Hatherleigh, is one of the people behind the campaign.

He said: ?We believe that the Hatherleigh area might benefit from a ?cooperative? approach. This would involve extra effort but with the right support it could work to everyone?s advantage, both households and businesses.

?For example, it might be possible to offer low income households low-cost Broadband Internet access and perhaps businesses could have higher speed access at no extra charge.?

A representative from the Broadband4Devon project will attend to explain how businesses can receive financial support to become ?Broadband-enabled?.

Geoff Hodgkinson said: ?Broadband4Devon is an important initiative helping businesses develop, grow and expand and we want to work closely with them.

?We are also working with the newly-formed Hatherleigh Business Forum.

?From publicity in the Hatherleigh Parish Pump newsletter it is clear that there is a lot of interest from both businesses and households.

?We therefore call on people in the Hatherleigh area to attend our meeting so we can collectively decide what to do next.

?We?ll be pleased to welcome Bratton Clovelly and Beaworthy residents and businesses too.?

More information about the benefits of Broadband can be found at http://www.bb4hatherleigh.org.uk">www.bb4hatherleigh.org.uk

The latest registration figure is published there ? direct from the BT site and automatically updated each day.

BT?s ?trigger? level at which they will make the Hatherleigh telephone exchange Broadband-capable is set at 250. There are about 1,300 telephone subscribers on the Hatherleigh exchange.