DEVELOPMENT agency Yorkshire Forward is aiming to make the region one of the few areas of the UK to have faster broadband internet services available to all.

It hopes to see 100% of the region's telephone exchanges enabled for broadband by the end of the year.

Some broadband internet services claim a ten times speed advantage over dial-up internet, which is available through modems which could operate at up to 56 kilobytes per second.

Broadband is particularly useful for people using video-based services or when large amounts of software or data have to be transferred.

It can be accessed via a standard telephone line - known as ADSL connections - or by cable, wireless or satellite.

Jim Farmery, head of Technology Infrastructure at Yorkshire Forward, said: "This invest- ment means that almost every village and town in Yorkshire and Humberside will have access to a minimum ADSL broadband service."

Working with BT and Adit, the regional procurement agency, Yorkshire Forward, has prov- ided investment of £2.2m to reach an estimated 4,000 householders and 800 businesses in outlying areas so they will be able to access the same high- speed broadband services as the rest of the region.

The agency has also worked closely with community groups.