Broadband Boost For Business

March 24, 2015 by Mike

Broadband boost for business

Tuesday 24th March 2015

Businesses in Southend-on-Sea will soon be able to apply for grants of up to £3,000 each to boost their broadband.

The news comes after the Government announced that it was extending its broadband connection voucher scheme for a further year and to include new areas including Southend-on-Sea.

Each voucher covers up to £3,000 of installation costs but businesses can also apply as a group to connect bigger or more complicated premises. Once installed, businesses pay the line rental and VAT.

More than 12,000 vouchers have already been issued to businesses in other cities around the UK but from 1 April 2015, small businesses in another 28 cities including Southend-on-Sea will be eligible to apply.

Graham Longley, Executive Councillor for Enterprise, Tourism and Economic Development, says: “I am delighted that Southend-on-Sea has been announced as an extension to this scheme. We are open for business and this could benefit many small local companies that need to upgrade their technology which will improve the services they can offer and ultimately boost profits. I hope that as many local businesses as possible take up the opportunity and apply for funding.”

The Government’s Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said: “This is fantastic news for Southend-on-Sea as we know how important a fast broadband connection is for businesses across the UK. We want to make sure that small businesses have the technology they need to compete in the digital age. This scheme will help tens of thousands of small businesses around the UK and I urge all Southend businesses to apply for a voucher from April 2015 onwards.”

The benefits to businesses of improved broadband connections include:

• Increasing profits by offering better services to more satisfied customers.
• Improving customers’ experience with quicker, communication and faster file-sharing thanks to higher upload and download speeds, especially for large files.
• Reducing software and hardware costs by helping businesses switch to online data storage solutions.
• Enhancing the way businesses communicate and collaborate through online video conference and cloud-based information sharing.

Applying for a broadband grant is easy - after 1 April 2015 all Southend businesses have to do is enter their postcode at www.connectionvouchers.co.uk to check eligibility, choose a supplier and fill in an application form or pick an off the shelf deal with no forms to fill in. Charities, not for profit organisations and commercial landlords can also apply.