Government urges SMEs to use broadband vouchers
Time is running out for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK to take advantage of the government's broadband vouchers.
There is just six months left on the government’s broadband connection voucher scheme, which provide grants for faster web access of up to £3,000 per business.
According to a release by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, uptake has been slower than predicted - just £26 million of the £100 million worth of funding had been used by April this year, when the original deadline for the scheme had been set.
Nevertheless, Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey has insisted that with 41,000 SMEs across the UK already having benefitted from the initiative since its launch towards the end of 2013, the voucher scheme has been a success.
However, Mr Vaizey is urging more small businesses to come forward and get their hands on funding to improve their broadband services. He said: "Our offer to small businesses has been a tremendous success and is proving incredibly popular.
"More than 40,000 UK businesses have already taken up our offer which is aimed at boosting both their broadband speeds as well as their bottom line. Businesses need to act now to ensure they don’t miss out on this fantastic offer and I’m urging all eligible businesses to apply now before it’s too late."
The deadline for the scheme has now been pushed back to March 2016, while the funding pot has been reduced down from the original £100 million to £60 million. Should the funds run out prior to the deadline then the voucher programme will come to an end.
To qualify for the broadband vouchers, a business must have fewer than 250 employees and a turnover no greater than £42.4 million a year.
Almost all businesses today need reliable, superfast broadband, which is not always available in their area, so getting a dedicated leased line for the premises can be the best solution. hSo provides managed networks designed for business - to get an instant cost for a leased line at your location, visit our online leased line price checker.
(Image: Adrian Pingstone)
