REGIONAL Internet firm Onyx is unveiling the latest tool in the battle to improve the speed of Internet access.

The Middlesbrough company is using the latest broadband technology to launch its ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) service, offering Internet access 40 times faster for businesses.

The new service will replace the traditional modern dial-up facilities and help businesses and consumers alike make massive improvements in the efficiency of their Internet use.

Alastair Waite of Onyx said: "ADSL is the accepted medium for Internet access in the USA, and has been undergoing trials in Newcastle for some months.

"The problem with Internet access has been its inability to live up to its billing, especially for the average consumer.

"Whilst we are constantly reminded of the potential of the Internet, it has often been impossible to exploit it because of the limitations of the old, over-stretched, telephone network."

In the move, widely tipped to bring a new era to Internet access, ADSL technology turns an ordinary BT telephone line into a high speed digital connection which can be used for Internet access and voice traffic simultaneously. The high speed ADSL connection is "always on" meaning an end to the process of dialling the Internet