VOUCHERS worth up to £3,000 are being offered to help small and medium sized businesses in Liverpool with the set up costs of high speed broadband.
The Liverpool Broadband Vouchers Scheme has been operating in parts of Liverpool city centre since September last year. Now it has now been opened up to applications from across the entire city council boundary area.
It gives eligible businesses and charities up to £3,000 towards the capital costs of a super/ultra-fast broadband connection. It is part of a national drive to provide a much better service of superfast broadband.
Councillor Gary Millar, Cabinet member for business, enterprise and investment, said: “We want Liverpool to be the best digitally connected city in the UK.
“We have a long road ahead to achieve this but the expansion of this scheme is a major leap in taking the city’s economy to the next level.
“We are competing on a global stage and investment in our digital infrastructure is a real priority for the city.”
The voucher can be used towards the cost of making the physical connection to business premises but cannot pay for monthly rental or for any IT equipment.
The connection needs to give a real change in service speed - upgrading to a minimum of 30Mbps on a shared line or 20Mbps on a dedicated business grade line.
Do you qualify?
The eligibility criteria are:
• Must be an SME (Small or Medium Enterprise), Charity or Social Enterprise
• Must be located within Liverpool Local Authority area
• The connection must cost more than £100
• Must be seeking a connection to the SME’s business premises
• Must sign up for a minimum 6 month contract with their supplier
• Must select a service that is capable of achieving 30Mbps or higher or a doubling of existing speeds
• Must not have received more than approximately £120,000 in grants in the last three years
More information about eligibility and an eligibility checker is available on the vouchers scheme website.
