Member Article

Hundreds of businesses across Manchester and Salford benefitting from grants for faster internet

Nearly 500 businesses in Manchester and Salford have each received up to £3,000 in government funding to help with the cost of getting faster broadband, according to the latest statistics.

Businesses in 22 cities across the UK have until March 2015 to apply for a government grant to start reaping the benefits of faster broadband speeds and better connectivity.

So far, 468 businesses in Manchester and Salford have received grants, with many more currently going through the application process.

The scheme allows businesses to apply for grants of up to £3,000 each to cover the costs of installing faster and better broadband. Film editing firm Edit 19, architects Cartwright Pickard and commercial property landlords CitiBase are among the firms to have benefited from the scheme in Greater Manchester.

The grant, in the form of a voucher, is part of the transformation of broadband the government is delivering across the country, helping cities to create and attract new jobs and investment and make the UK the best place in the world to do business.

Michael Taylor, Chair of Downtown Manchester in Business, said: “Connecting your business to superfast broadband is a major priority for all our members.

“The voucher scheme is a positive way for more businesses to get help to make themselves more competitive and explore radical new ways of doing business digitally.”

Benefits to businesses as a result of faster, better broadband include:

Growing and accessing new markets through better communication with customers and suppliers

Increasing security through fast secure back-up of data

Increasing productivity and improving customer service through faster upload and download speeds

Reducing costs of software and hardware by exploiting online applications and data storage

Enhancing communication and collaboration by including colleagues, clients and partners in real-time video calls, and by sharing information on cloud-based software

More information is available at: www.connectionvouchers.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .