Broadband Connection Vouchers Extend Further Outside of UK Cities

The Government’s Connection Voucher scheme, which offers grants worth up to £3,000 to help SME businesses get a superfast broadband (30Mbps+) connection installed, appears to be extending further outside of its core city focus after the Newcastle project confirmed that it was now available to most of North East England.

Originally the vouchers could only be taken by businesses operating inside of their approved city boundaries, although over the past few months we’ve seen various related schemes extend their availability well beyond that and now Newcastle appears to have gone even further.

The original voucher scheme was supported by around £100m from the £150m Urban Broadband Fund (“Super-Connected Cities“), although its budget was last year increased by £40m and from April 2015 a total of 50 cities (including many outlying areas) will be able to offer the vouchers. The scheme itself is expected to run until March 2016.

Connection Voucher Cities

Existing cities in which the voucher scheme is already operating:

Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Derry / Londonderry, Edinburgh, Leeds, London , Manchester, Newcastle, Newport, Oxford, Perth, Portsmouth, Salford, York.

New cities in which the voucher scheme will be offered from April 1, 2015*:

Bournemouth, Chelmsford, Dundee, Exeter, Glasgow, Gloucester, Hull, Inverness, Ipswich, Leicester, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Preston, Reading, Sheffield, Southampton, Southend on Sea, Stirling, Stoke on Trent, Sunderland, Swansea, Swindon, Wolverhampton

* Funding for the new cities is on a first come, first serve basis (i.e. no specific allocations like the original / existing cities)

So far more than 430 businesses in Newcastle, Gateshead and North Tyneside have already taken advantage of the Vouchers and it’s today been dramatically expanded to include County Durham, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland and the Tees Valley (including Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-On-Tees).

Ged Bell, Newcastle City Councillor, said:

“This is a fantastic free offer for SMEs in our region, and could help boost the economy of the entire North East. Hundreds of businesses in Newcastle have already snapped up Connection Vouchers and are discovering all the advantages that superfast broadband can bring – easier, quicker contact with their customers, a more reliable internet service and reduced costs through more efficient working.

Landlords of commercial buildings can also put in multiple applications on behalf of their tenants, making their properties much more attractive to businesses. We’d encourage any small and medium business or charity in the region to visit the Go Digital website – you can read case studies of businesses that have benefited, check your eligibility and start your application.”

Back in April the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK office told us that between 15,000 to 16,000 vouchers had so far been taken, each with an average value per voucher of around £2,000. Certainly making the vouchers significantly more available is sure to tackle a few of the doubts about slow uptake, although some will still question whether this is the best use for such investment.