SMBs in the 22 ‘Super Connected Cities’ will have an extra year to apply for vouchers worth up to £3,000 to cover the cost of installing superfast broadband after the government extended the initiative until April 2016 and will increase the number of locations it is available.
The extension was revealed in the full version of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, which also revealed that 5,000 businesses have already benefited from the scheme but did not say how much of the £100 million available has been allocated.
In September, it was reported that 3,000 SMBs had received £7.5 million in total with the government launching a £2 million advertising campaign and a simplified application process in a bid to encourage more firms to sign up.
The existing 22 Super Connected Cities are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Brighton, Hove, Cambridge, Coventry, Derby, Leeds, Oxford, Portsmouth, Salford, York, Newcastle, Manchester, Newport, Aberdeen, Perth and Londonderry/Derry, all of which were successful in their bids.
To be eligible for a voucher, applicants must be an SMB, registered charity, social enterprise or sole trader and the cost installing business broadband must be more than £100. There are 500 registered suppliers for the scheme, including BT, Virgin Media Business and TalkTalk Business and gigabit FTTP network operators Hyperoptic and CityFibre.
The superconnected cities vision was originally intended to provide the winning cities with funds to build superfast broadband and public Wi-Fi networks. However following legal challenges from ISPs, this was watered down to a voucher scheme, although the Wi-Fi aspect has remained unaffected, with BT and Virgin Media building wireless infrastructure for city councils.
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This is one of the biggest cons out. We are a business in a major city with fibre to the cabinet only a few hundred metres away, Yet the only thing we are offered is a leased line costing £200+ per month. But we would get the installation paid for, big deal, It's like a mugger saying he won't be charged for the his knife! Until the BT virtual monopoly is removed the tax payer and users will be ripped off!