From the 1st of April, BDUK have expanded the availability of the up to £3,000 Internet connection vouchers to a total of 50 cities. Bournemouth is one such “city”, however the Bournemouth scheme importantly includes every postcode within Dorset.
Andrew Skipsey, Managing Director of M12 Solutions says, “This is an amazing development for businesses across the entire county of Dorset, particularly those who are in rural areas where our Wessex Internet enterprise doesn’t yet reach and the incumbent BT upgrades are either not scheduled to arrive or being delayed as part of the wider BDUK superfast upgrades. What is also tremendous is that we have the flexibility to provide the most competitive & innovative solution to businesses, either via our Wessex Internet network, or our wholesale arrangement with BT’s fibre to the cabinet products as well as fibre circuits from over 9 other national carriers. We can keep the ongoing rentals as well as the connection costs to a minimum with the expanded voucher scheme. The scheme permits joint grant funding for up to £20,000. Therefore expanding to business parks which require improved connectivity is more viable.”
Skipsey continues, “I received a call from Pete Bartlett of the Dorset Superfast team who encourages us to get the word out and take advantage of the £40m pool of available super connected cities grant funding. Bournemouth, and more generally Dorset, is competing for this money with 49 other cities. I also spoke to Ian Girling of The Dorset Chamber of Commerce.”
Girling explains, “This is great news for business across the county. Superfast Internet is a vital service and grant money will help firms to move quickly to a better service”.