Homes in Budleigh Salterton will have access to faster broadband by spring next year, BT has announced.

Some 20,000 homes across Devon are set to benefit from the telephone giant’s plans to roll out an improved service as part of its 21st Century Network (21CN).

BT said its investment makes broadband speeds of up to 20 megabits per second available - more than double the maximum speeds previously available to the majority of UK homes and businesses.

Jon Reynolds, BT’s South West regional director, said: “This is another important step forward for the county.

“Faster broadband can help businesses become more competitive and greatly improve the online services available to families and home workers.

“BT is the only company consistently investing in a mixture of faster broadband technologies, both in and outside the region’s major urban areas. As the roll-out of faster broadband gathers pace in the South West, internet users will increasingly be able to choose the service that suits their needs best.”

Jeremy Filmer-Bennett, chief executive of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, welcomed the move, saying: “Faster broadband is vital to the future prosperity and success of the South West.

“It plays a key role in businesses, improving their services to customers, becoming more efficient and marketing themselves more effectively.”

The latest roll-out programme includes Budleigh Salterton, Okehampton, Teignmouth, Braunton, Bovey Tracey.

BT said the five Devon communities were among 36 towns and cities in the South West, and more than 300 in the UK, included in the latest phase of the programme.

BT said its latest investment was in addition to the �2.5 billion roll-out of super-fast optical fibre cable-based broadband - which is expected to bring even faster speeds to two-thirds of the UK by the end of 2015.