HOMES and businesses in Okehampton are among 14,000 across Devon to now have access to faster broadband, BT has announced.

Okehampton, Holsworthy, Braunton and Budleigh Salterton are the latest communities in the county to benefit from the roll-out of BT's next generation broadband service delivered over copper lines.

The investment from BT makes available broadband speeds of up to 20 megabits per seconds — more than double the maximum speeds previously available to the majority of UK homes and businesses.

It is now available in 26 Devon communities, including Exeter, Bideford, Plymouth and Tavistock, with a further eight exchanges due to be upgraded by spring 2012.

The new service is available on an open, wholesale basis to all companies providing broadband.

Jon Reynolds, BT's South West regional director said: 'This is an important step forward for these communities.

'Faster broadband can help businesses become more competitive and greatly improve the online services available to families, homeworkers and other internet users.

'By the spring, more than two thirds of the region's homes and businesses will be served by an exchange that has been upgraded to deliver these higher speeds.'

This investment in the copper network is in addition to the £2.5-billion BT roll-out of super fast fibre-based broadband, which is expected to bring even faster speeds to two-thirds of the UK by the end of 2015.