Press & PR

The locations of some of the first areas to get access to a new 24Mbps broadband service have been revealed.

According to information released by Samknows.com, all of the exchanges will be located within the West Midlands, with the exception of Swansea in south Wales.

Exchanges in Birmingham, Solihull, Dudley, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Sandwell, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton and Walsall will all be enabled to deliver BT's new 21st Century Network services.

According to PC Advisor, a total 868 exchanges will receive the 24Mbps service by May 2009, with 39 already capable of delivering providing customers with the product.

In addition, 43 more exchanges will be ready by the end of the month, with the remaining 786 undergoing upgrades during the course of the coming year.

Cited in a Computing.co.uk report, Rupert Wood, principal analyst at research firm Analysys, has said that Britain is currently a "leading nation" in the development of high-speed broadband infrastructure, with BT's project being hailed as "probably the most ambitious next-generation project in the world".

Vonage allows customers using broadband services to make cheap calls over the internet using VoIP services, with the V-Plan 1 package offering unlimited UK landline calls for just £5.99 per month.