Homes and businesses in Tenby now have access to faster broadband, BT announced this week.

The town is among 17 more communities in Wales to benefit from the roll-out of BT's next generation broadband service delivered over copper lines.

The BT investment makes available download speeds of up to 20megabits per second (Mbps) - more than double the speed previously available from BT.

Saundersfoot, Haverfordwest and Milford Haven are among other local communities earmarked for upgrades in the coming months.

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

Ann Beynon, BT director for Wales, added: "This is an important step forward for Wales. In these challenging economic times, faster broadband can help businesses become more competitive, find new customers and work more flexibly, as well as greatly improving the online services available to families, homeworkers and other internet users.

"By the summer, around 71 per cent of homes and businesses in Wales will be served by an exchange that has been upgraded to deliver these higher speeds."