Government Grants Available for Gigabit-Capable Broadband Connections | News

Interested in having the resources to do more? Discover how you can spend more time achieving your goals and reaching your full potential with ERA Group.

ERA Group is a network of 1,000+ specialists worldwide. We always have local expertise on your doorstep. ERA’s large network and depth of industry knowledge ensures our consultants deliver Value through Insight to your business.

Whether you would like to set up an initial meeting, gain more valuable insight into your industry or start the cost optimisation process, we can help you achieve your business mission and enable you to spend more time focusing on new initiatives and innovation, helping your business succeed.

If you are a small or medium-sized business, it’s possible you could obtain a grant of up to £3,000 to upgrade your business broadband to a gigabit-capable connection, which is really great news for a lot of businesses in the UK.

An upgrade from a standard style of broadband connection would be a massive enabler for businesses relying upon data speed and accessibility by migrating to a much more robust and improved network capability.

However it’s not all straightforward and will involve an increased monthly access charge to the service, so organisations need to ensure the following is present:

1. There is a clearly defined business need for this level of access and that more appropriate types of connectivity would not be the better fit.
2. The price is not hiked by the delivering supplier to compensate for all or part of the voucher
3. Unreasonable length contracts are not requested
4. The solution is fit for purpose and a wide range of communications and IT issues have been considered such as prioritisation to certain types of communication such as voice and data over email

In the following four UK areas, the government is testing a new Gigabit Voucher Scheme which will provide vouchers worth up to £3,000 to support the capital costs of getting new gigabit capable connections for businesses.

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire

Bristol, with Bath and North East Somerset

(In the Bristol and Bath & North East Somerset area, the government is also providing vouchers worth up to £500 available to connect homes.)

Coventry and Warwickshire (North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rugby, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick)

West Yorkshire and York (Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield and York)

This test is part of the Local Full Fibre Networks programme; this is a £200 million programme helping to fund local-led projects across the UK to leverage local and commercial investment in full fibre, which is the “gold standard” for fast and reliable broadband. Get in touch with expense reduction analysts for more information and to also discuss your IT procurement needs.

Article by: Nigel Rosehill

Back