BT will upgrade its Broadband speed to 20 Mbps for millions of its home and business users at no extra cost. Uploads will be up to 1Mbps

Existing customers will need to sign a new contract with BT to obtain the boost although the speed will depend on the state of their line and the users distance from the exchange

BT’s change to ADSL2+ technology has now brought their speeds closer to those of their competitors such as Virgin media who offer a speed of up to 50Mbps to some customers. Customers on lower speed packages will also see an improvement in broadband speeds.

Forty % of the population will have access to the new speeds through 549 telephone exchanges, which cover approximately 10 million homes and businesses. BT hopes that this will increase to 55% by next March. Trials will begin this summer in Muswell Hill London, South Wales and Whitchurch.