In 2018, The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) launched the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to help deliver gigabit capable connectivity to businesses. The scheme is backed by a budget of £67 million for eligible businesses to claim up to £2,500 off the cost of installation of full fibre connectivity to their premises.

Since the initiative launch, fibre broadband specialists Glide has analysed its successful applications to reveal the business hot spots which have benefited from the scheme. Glide have received close to 1,000 voucher requests, with currently over 900 vouchers issued - saving the local businesses an estimated £2,500,000 and increasing their access speeds 9 fold.

Of those applications, 13% of the vouchers were issued to businesses in Coventry alone - meaning 120 businesses in the area are now supported with full fibre connectivity that might otherwise have struggled to make this commercially viable.

The top regions that have benefited from the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, based on the number of vouchers issued are:

  1. Coventry and Warwickshire (215)
  2. Northamptonshire (175)
  3. Greater Birmingham (80)
  4. Leicestershire (75)
  5. Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire (66)
  6. Berkshire (60)
  7. Bath and North East Somerset (55)
  8. Derbyshire and Nottingham (50)
  9. Southampton and Hampshire (45)
  10. Essex (35)
  11. London (30)

James Warner, Managing Director at Glide said: “With the Voucher Scheme set to run until 2021, or when the budget of £67 million runs out, it's great to see that so many local businesses are getting on board and investing in an ultra-fast and reliable network. We know how integral a good internet connection is to a business, and we have a good track record of delivering it (claiming 67% of the vouchers in the initial Coventry and Warwickshire trial scheme. We set up the gigabit knowledge hub, to answer any questions any potential businesses may have before they begin the claiming process.

“With an unprecedented interest in the scheme, the vouchers are being claimed at a greater rate than expected, so if you are in need of faster broadband, don’t delay in checking if your business is eligible.”