The number of UK homes and businesses with broadband internet access is now more than three million, according to figures published today.

According to Oftel, the telecoms regulator, more than 40,000 households and companies per week are installing the technology, which offers "always on" connections and faster downloading speeds.

One in five UK homes with internet access now has a broadband connection, meaning that the figure has more than doubled over the past year.

David Edmonds, the director-general of Oftel, said: "Broadband is one of the fastest-growing new technologies in recent years.

"It is transforming the way consumers and businesses use the internet, and is becoming an important market in its own right.

"In the last five years, the internet has moved from the margins to the mass market, with half of all UK households and two-thirds of businesses now online."

The e-commerce minister, Stephen Timms, added: "We have reached the three million figure earlier than expected, and this is great news for the broadband market.

"The UK was a slow starter, but real progress is now being made."