The Mayor of London has launched a £23m scheme to provide high speed broadband connections for over 9,000 small businesses in the capital. Today the Mayor described the scheme to leading members of the capital’s business community as he addressed the London First Infrastructure Summit.
Businesses anywhere in Greater London can now visit www.london.gov.uk/broadband to apply to the Mayor for a voucher of up to £3,000 to help pay the set up costs of high speed internet connections. Being able to access those services is proving increasingly vital for businesses of all sizes as the connections are essential for companies to successfully use ‘cloud’ data sharing services and to send large electronic files speedily. They also cut travel costs by allowing employees to work remotely and to video conference.
The Mayor believes the vouchers will help further cement London’s reputation as the digital capital of Europe. Improving the capital’s digital infrastructure is critical to his aim of helping small businesses compete in global markets and realise their full economic potential.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “I want to ensure small businesses in London have access to the most powerful possible internet connections. The digital arena is now a major factor in the success or otherwise of every type of business and I urge business people across the capital to take full advantage of a scheme that could boost their bottom line.”
One Westminster business is already making very productive use of a high speed internet connection provided through the scheme. Soho Square Studios successfully applied for a voucher as part of a trial launch of the scheme across six London boroughs at the end of last year. They are an audio post-production house in the heart of London’s creative community specialising in sound design, voice over records and mixing for advertising, film and television.
Although they are a small London based company, Soho Square Studios have found themselves competing in an international market place. Having a superfast internet connection has been a step change that allows them to compete in an industry that is becoming more digital by the day. Hard copy master tapes are becoming a thing of the past and Soho Square are using their new line connection to enable faster, easier and superior transfer of the audio files that are their livelihood.
Kim Goody Owner of Soho Square Studios, said: “We’re a small family run team and I believe we offer a level of service and creativity that the bigger multinationals in our industry just can’t match. However, we need to keep up with them technologically and this grant has helped us to do that in one very important area."
Government Communications Minister Ed Vaizey said: “We are witnessing a transformation of broadband in the UK which will be instrumental in driving our economic growth. These vouchers will save businesses in London thousands of pounds, as well generating thousands more, and I strongly urge London businesses to make the most of this offer to ensure they are properly equipped to compete in today’s digital age.”
Today the Mayor also used his speech to the London First Infrastructure Summit to update his audience on a Long Term Infrastructure Investment Plan for the capital that will set out London’s strategic infrastructure requirements through to 2050. He told the Summit that his team will today publish a Progress Report setting out how they have approached a plan that will cover all the main aspects of infrastructure including public transport, roads, energy, water, waste, IT, housing and schools. The Progress Report will discuss key themes emerging across the various types of infrastructure ahead of a full consultation on infrastructure requirements that is due to take place this summer.