Belfast In £16.7m Broadband Boost

Belfast has received a £16.7m investment in broadband infrastructure, it has been announced.

Lord Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir said the move would put Belfast on the "cusp of a digital revolution".

Councillor Ó Muilleoir was speaking as he officially launched the Belfast Connection Vouchers Scheme at City Hall today.

The move is part of the Super-Connected Cities initiative by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in Westminster, which awarded Belfast City Council £13.7 million from its Urban Broadband Fund.

The City Council has put up £3m as part of its £150m Investment Programme.

Over £9m is going towards the voucher scheme, which will give small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) the chance to apply for up to £3,000 grant funding towards the cost of installing faster internet connections.

The Lord Mayor said: "The Super-Connected Belfast initiative will put Belfast on the map. It will provide the infrastructure to allow our indigenous businesses to reach their full potential from their Belfast base, while it will encourage major international companies already here to stay and encourage others to consider investing in the city.

"The Belfast Connection Vouchers Scheme is a super opportunity for our small and medium-sized businesses, charities and social enterprises to reap the rewards from having superfast broadband.

"The benefits are enormous from increasing efficiency saving time and resources; reducing the need for business travel; increasing productivity through faster processing times and quicker communications with suppliers and customers.

DCMS Communications Minister Ed Vaizey said: "The broadband market is moving at an incredible pace. Today businesses expect and demand faster and faster broadband to compete in the global race. Connection Vouchers will be an important tool for cities in helping to address that demand, and government has now allocated up to £100m to provide a digital boost to super-connected cities like Belfast."

(IT/MH)