HIGH-speed broadband Internet services could be available throughout Britain by 2005.

Telecoms operator BT said that complete coverage of the country, in line with Government targets, is in sight, but will only happen if industry and Government work together.

The news came as the company announced plans to extend the service to 2,300 exchanges, including 57 in the North-East, which includes 16 in Durham, five in Cleveland and six in Northumberland.

Once they are connected, more than 99 per cent of the country will have access to ADSL broadband.

Extra funding is needed before the remaining 600 exchanges, serving 100,000 UK householders, can be switched on.

Ray Smith, BT's North-East regional director, said: "Just about everybody in the North-East can be connected to a broadband-enabled BT exchange.

"If they can demonstrate that the demand is there, BT will invest, in confidence that we are meeting our customers' needs.

"We will be looking for involvement and support by the public sector. Local councils, regional development agencies and other public organisations, can help raise levels of awareness and accelerate broadband roll-out."

Broadband access is available to more than 80 per cent of UK households, but both industry and Government are pushing for countrywide coverage.

Last year, the Government pledged to connect every school in the country to broadband Internet services by 2006.

For the service to be switched on at an exchange earmarked for conversion, a sufficient number of users have to register their interest in using the service.

In the past, customers complained that the level of demand required was too high, but changes in the cost of equipment mean that the trigger levels of demand have been lowered.

In areas where demand is still too low to reach the trigger levels, investment partnerships between public and private sector agencies have encouraged take-up and even provided extra funding.

BT hopes that investment partnerships will help connect the final 600 exchanges, which are the country's smallest, each serving fewer than 300 customers.

Ben Verwaayen, BT Group chief executive, said: "There is no doubt that many of these trigger levels are very challenging to hit. In some areas, market stimulation alone will not be sufficient to deliver broadband.

"We are critically dependant on public partnerships to stimulate demand and to intervene with support to get the exchanges enabled early, and even to help reduce the triggers."