Many firms that wish to grow and develop are inhibited by the quality of their digital connection, including poor broadband speeds and high costs for upgrading to a faster/more reliable service.
The Connectivity+ Voucher is designed to help businesses cover some of the costs of upgrading to a faster connection. Vouchers can also be used to cover other costs associated including:
- The actual cost of the installation i.e. the cost of the physical connection, including excess construction costs to reach a network
- Hardware related to facilitating the connection e.g. a firewall, router, receiver/antennae (for wireless connections)
- Internal ethernet network cabling
- Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony
- Consultancy/project management cost to install a connection – capped at 25% of the value of a voucher
Connectivity+ Vouchers can also be used in certain circumstances to cover the cost (or partial cost) of a first year rental of a connectivity solution providing the first year is paid to the supplier in full at the start of the contract.
Connectivity+ Vouchers are intended to help businesses upgrade to higher speed business grade broadband, above 30 mbps. If your current download speed is above 30 mbps, then a new higher speed connection should double the broadband speed. For examples of how people have benefited from Connectivity and Growth vouchers take a look at some case studies or watch our latest video below…
How to register
If you are interested in applying for a Connectivity+ Voucher, please follow our the steps below:
- Visit the eligibility checker on our website to see if your business is eligible for Digital Enterprise assistance.
- If eligible sign up to our Customer Portal and complete the registration form. Please also upload any additional information – such as current broadband speed, details on the project you are looking to undertake and quotes – as this can help us to fast track your application.
- We will assess your registration for business eligibility and consider which form of support we can offer (Digital Growth Voucher, Connectivity Voucher or Digital Knowledge Exchange).
- If eligible we will confirm which strands of support we can offer you.
- If you are offered a Connectivity+ Voucher you will need to obtain quotations for upgrading your broadband and associated costs (Two quotes required).
- On successful application we will send you a Funding Agreement.
- On receiving returned Funding Agreement you can commission your suppliers.
- Once the work has been completed and proof of this is supplied via a claim form we will arrange for the funding to be paid to you.
Up to 450 Connectivity+ Vouchers will be available to eligible SMEs up till the end of the programme (August 2023) and will be available on a first come first served basis.
