06 August 2015
Businesses urged to take up better broadband offer
Issued on behalf of Leicester City Council
Businesses across Leicester and Leicestershire are being urged to take the offer of help to get faster broadband as part of a local voucher scheme.
All county businesses are now eligible to apply for the broadband connection voucher scheme which is already on offer in the city and parts of the county.
Gaining faster broadband connectivity can help businesses to save time, money, increase productivity and provide a greater service for their customer base.
Karl Nicolson, director of Spectrum Printing, in Hamilton, said: “Before we had superfast broadband we were managing on 2mbps download and 200kbps upload. These extremely slow speeds were stopping us from moving forward in a digital capacity.
“Having to make regular trips in vehicles was actually costing us time and money, taking and picking up proofs and digital artwork from customers when emailing them, was sometimes virtually impossible.
“Now we do not have that to do, the time and money saved will enable us to explore services previously not available to us, such as online webinar services, helping our sales team to present over the web rather than face to face, saving travel time and petrol costs.
Businesses can apply for up to £3,000 of grant funding for the increased infrastructure. However, there is limited time to access the funding, with 50 per cent of the funding pot having already been allocated. Businesses are being urged to apply or miss the chance to secure the finance to improve their business efficiency.
A Leicestershire County Council spokesperson said: “We are extremely pleased that the Broadband Voucher Scheme has been extended to include all of the county businesses as improved broadband connections will help them compete locally and nationally, and help strengthen the Leicestershire economy.”
Leicester City Council project manager Sukhi Basra added: ” The scheme was only launched in April 2015 and since them we have so far supported 198 businesses across Leicester. This clearly demonstrates the need from businesses to increase their productivity in this digital age.”
To find out more visit the following website (www.connectionvouchers.co.uk ) or email digitalleicester@leicester.gov.uk
