The 1Mbps should allow people to do more with broadband

About 50 net providers have signed-up so they can offer a 1Mbps service from 20 November, it said.

More than 80% of the UK can get ADSL broadband, but some will miss out on the faster service because they live too far away from phone exchanges.

Cable firms like NTL and Telewest already offer a 1Mbps connection, but they reach only 40% of the population.

Speedy service

The six-week trials which started in October showed there was a "strong consumer demand" for the faster ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) service, said BT Wholesale's director of products Bruce Stanford.

The 1Mbps is not "rate-adaptive" though, which means people living more than four kilometres from their telephone exchange which has been ADSL-enabled will not be able to get the service at that speed.

Well over a million now have access to high-speed ADSL net access of 512Kbps, which is about 10 times faster than dial-up access.

But there are still areas, particularly outside town and cities that do not have access to ADSL-enabled telephone exchanges offering this kind of connection.

Service providers will be charged a �50 connection fee, or a �35 upgrade fee for existing subscribers to be able to offer their customers the service.

Monthly subscription charges are also likely to be slightly higher.