The ITS Technology Group, which has already supplied faster broadband connections to around 1,800 digitally deprived small businesses located on business parks across the United Kingdom (both rural and urban areas), has reduced the initial installation cost for related services.
The provider states that one of the common barriers to entry is the £2,650 connection fee. Until recently this could be tackled by harnessing the Government’s Connection Voucher scheme, but that was recently suspended after the original funding dried up (here).
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Instead ITS has come up with an alternative approach, which involves lowering the overall cost of connection and splitting the fee into two parts. Customers will pay an upfront fee and can chose from two options: £499 for a standard connection (within 45 working days) or £629 for connection within 5 working days, and the balance is recovered in the monthly payment over the course of the initial contract.
For example, a bog standard 20Mbps broadband-only product taken over 36 months. In this setup the standard connection fee is £499, with 36 payments at £59 per month (£29 broadband service charge, £30 connection fee repayment). The total connection fee is £1,579.
Roy Shelton, Group CEO of ITS, said:
“The industry has known for some time that the enormously successful BDUK voucher scheme was coming to a close. More than that, there were many areas that weren’t eligible for the scheme in any case. For that reason we have developed a sustainable commercially viable solution for the many thousands of SMEs within the reach of our networks that still suffer from inadequate connectivity.
In addition to superfast broadband, ITS’ Connected Business Services offers online data storage, support and access to Microsoft Office 365, and VoIP services. SMEs can choose the right package for their needs and access affordable business-grade connectivity without incurring a hefty upfront connection charge.
We are able to offer this because we have an existing network footprint that we have heavily invested in, as well as acquired networks which we have upgraded, in order to serve the digitally deprived. This approach, in our experience, results in a more loyal customer base.”
Apparently the new service will be initially available to businesses in Sheepsbridge, Pride Park in Derby, Knowsley, Manchester and the FibreSpeed network in North Wales. Further areas will be announced in January 2016.
Package speeds of 20, 30 and 50Mbps (up to 100Mbps on some networks) services with unlimited data allowance will be offered over 12, 24 or 36 month contract terms, with or without IT services. Availability will of course be subject to survey.
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