Basking in the Gigabit Glow

The Gigabit Voucher scheme (which has seen the government offer to subsidise ultrafast fibre installations) was only announced in March this year; for us here at Wessex Internet it’s been an incredibly busy few months since then – the offer of a gigabit-capable fibre connection to rural businesses and their surrounding communities has been an offer too good to refuse for many of Dorset’s countryside residents.

One of the very first businesses to take up the offer was Sun Salads based near Cranborne. Business owner Simon Lawes first contacted us about the offer of an ultrafast connection shortly after the scheme was announced. Within a few weeks, Sun Salads’ voucher was approved, and we got to work installing their shiny new fibre connection.

Simon told the DCMS: “We now enjoy reliable download speeds of up to 1000 Mbps and are basking in the glow of a much faster broadband connection. Orders from customers open instantly in a click and our multi-site operation has easy access to our shared information. We are an agricultural business so we’re not heavy media users but we are very dependent upon keeping up with our customers – and the option to upgrade to faster speeds if, and when we need it are vital for a growing business.”

The £67million government initiative allows Internet Service Providers like Wessex Internet to supply vouchers worth up to £3,000 for a small or medium-sized business, or £500 for residents nearby (terms apply), to help with the costs of connecting to Full Fibre broadband.