EVERY home and business in Worcestershire will have access to high-speed broadband internet by the summer.

A partnership between Advantage West Midlands and Avanti, a provider of satellite broadband services, will see satellite and wireless base stations being installed to cover 17 locations across the West Midlands. In Worcestershire these base stations will be installed in Aston Somerville, south of Evesham, Strensham, near junction eight of the M5, and Chandlers Cross, south of Malvern. Locations of other stations to ensure 100 per cent broadband coverage in the county will be announced in the next few weeks. Dr Richard Hutchins, corporate director for skills and sustainable development at Advantage West Midlands said: "We are committed to making the West Midlands, the first UK region to have universal access to broadband technology.

"This is absolutely vital to equip our businesses with the tools they need to compete in an increasingly global market.

"Getting the technology in place is just one part of this process; we also need to encourage and educate people to make use of broadband."

It is thought that the West Midlands will be the first UK region to deliver universal broadband access.

The Avanti contract is part of the Rural Broadband Access Project (RBAP), which is funded by Advantage West Midlands and delivered by West Midlands Networking Company. The first bases will be enabled in March, with the project due to be completed in July 2006. Roll-out dates will be published on www.the

powerofbroadband.org.uk