Broadband Voucher Scheme Extended for Smaller Businesses in Leeds

Smaller projects in the Leeds City Region will now also be able to access Connection Vouchers worth between £500 and up to £1000, which can be used to help cover the costs involved with securing a new 30Mbps+ capable broadband ISP connection (e.g. firewalls, routers, installation, cabling, project management fees etc.).

The subsidy, which is backed by the Government but remains separate from the wider UK Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (up to £2,500 per voucher), was originally established in 2017 but its eligibility criteria was initially more restrictive. Businesses can apply if their current broadband speed is under 30Mbps, or if they plan to double the speed of a connection that is already 30Mbps+.

The funding is being distributed by the regional Digital Enterprise programme, which states that up to 250 vouchers will be available to eligible SMEs up till the end of the current programme (May 2019) on a first come, first served basis.

Muz Mumtaz, Head of Digital Enterprise, said (BQ):

“We wanted to make the Connectivity Vouchers even more accessible to businesses in the Leeds City Region and by broadening our funding we can get more companies equipped with faster broadband speeds that are essential to compete, whether at a regional, national or global level. In many cases, our Connectivity Voucher can cover the total cost of upgrading a business’ broadband connection.

It’s really simple to apply and through our Connectivity Voucher and Digital Growth Voucher programmes Digital Enterprise has already helped over 700 Yorkshire businesses to boost their broadband connectivity and upgrade their digital technology with a total of £3.4m investment since 2017. The great news is that this investment is expected to create over 1,800 new jobs across the Leeds City Region.”

SMEs in Wakefield can also benefit. Now for one of those promotional case study videos.