Residents will be able to use the wireless technology

Torrington will be the first town in Devon to have the wireless broadband technology.

Rather than waiting for special cables to be installed, residents and businesses will be able to get high-speed access by installing small aerials on the sides of their homes which are then linked to a central transmitter.

Nova Fisher, from Broadband 4 Devon, which is trying to bring the service to people across the county, said: "For a lot of rural areas of Devon, cable installation of broadband is a long way off, so we are assisting those areas to get broadband via the airwaves now."

Spearheading move

BT, Devon County Council, South West Regional Development Agency and the EU Objective Two programme are among the supporters of the scheme.

Although it is aimed at businesses, residents will also be able to tap into wireless broadband.

Ms Fisher said: "We are spearheading the move of broadband into rural areas, but once it is installed, local people can use it."

She added that there was no danger from the broadband transmitters which emit lower output than mobile phone masts and which have been the subject of public concern.