Heather is demanding clarification from ‘Connecting Shropshire’ and the as about how and when the extension of the ‘Super Connected Cities’ broadband scheme will start helping businesses in rural parts of Shropshire such as her ward.
Heather said “Is all been really vague and very low key. It has been announced with a whimper. This should be good news. Businesses employing fewer than 250 people in rural areas that haven’t got superfast broadband can apply for a ‘voucher’ worth up to £3,000 to allow them to source their own supply.”
The extension is part of an UK wide scheme to boost the availability of Superfast broadband to small businesses in various cities across the country. It will see the Birmingham SCC region extended to include Shropshire.
Heather continued: “Its when you look at the detail that I start having concerns.
“To begin with there is no indication of the amounts local businesses can expect – are they determined by geographic location, size of company or what? Nor is there any indication of the timescale in which these applications will be processed – an important consideration for small businesses where budgets are often tight.
“My other concern is can we use local businesses to provide the service? In many rural areas the easiest way is to use mobile phone technology and I we have companies, including one in my ward, who specialise in doing this. However the list of accredited companies on their website only lists companies either in Birmingham and the Black Country or are UK wide concerns. It would be patently unfair if we were not allowed to use local companies to redeem these vouchers.
Heather concluded: “It would be most helpful if we could have more on this scheme, sooner rather than later. Many companies have seen their business suffer because of the lock of superfast broadband in the countryside and we really need to act quickly to put things right.”