Pictured above: Mark Ward (Left) and Nigel Hoar (right) Directors of Bridgnorth based 7Computers

British telecom today announced they had upgraded the Bridgnorth telephone exchange to support ADSL2+, 4 months ahead of schedule.

This is the second generation high speed internet that BT are calling the "Twenty First Century Network", which has been largely encouraged and supported by the government.

This makes Bridgnorth an early adopter of the new technology as only about 10% of exchanges nationwide have, thus far been upgraded.

The upgrade means that speeds of upto 24Mb/s are now available, previously upto 8Mb/s was the fastest enabling faster download and upload of images and video on the web for local businesses and private users.  

"Upto' is the crucial part of BT's statement" says Nigel Hoar, of internet provider 7Computers in Bridgnorth.

"Not everyone will see a speed increase if they move to the new technology. If your connection is more than 3.5km from the Bridgnorth telephone exchange, it is unlikely you will see much benefit from the new service," said Nigel.

Nigel also points out "3.5km is not the distance as the crow flies but the length of the cable between your property and the exchange - and sometimes the cable does not run the way you might expect".

Not all service providers can offer the high speed broadband, currently only BT and 7Computers through Telford based EntaNet can give you the new connection. Business partner at 7Computers Mark Ward added "Shropshire has received a great deal of support for installation of broadband in recent years, and this is part of that on-going investment, which will clearly help local businesses compete on the world wide stage"

7Computers are offering free advice about the upgrade and can even estimate the line speed you might expect if you upgraded with them and can be contacted on Bridgnorth 01746 767676