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17 June 03 Up to 1,300 businesses and community groups across the Highlands and Islands are in line to share £500,000 worth of grants to help them upgrade to broadband telecommunications. The area's development agency, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), is making the funding available to accelerate the take-up of broadband services in the region. Broadband offers computer users an 'always-on' connection to the internet at up to ten times the speed of a dial-up modem and is currently available in 30 per cent of the Highlands and Islands. Earlier this year, HIE launched a promotional campaign, 'Speak up for Broadband' which has encouraged 7,000 businesses to register their interest in receiving the service. Five exchanges in the area - Nairn, Forres, Fort William, Oban and Dingwall - have just become broadband-enabled with HIE's assistance. Buckie is set to follow later this month, joining the existing broadband exchanges at Elgin, Inverness and Inverness Culloden. HIE has invested in running a series of pilot trials to test other methods of delivering broadband, including enabling six communities to access the service through innovative wireless technology. Now, as a further incentive to small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and community groups, one-off grants are being made available. Groups and businesses in communities where broadband is available from either a telephone exchange (through a standard copper-wire system known as ADSL) or through wireless transmission can apply for a payment of £300 to introduce the service. In locations which can only access broadband through costlier options such as satellite and leased lines, a higher grant worth £1200 will be available. Stuart Robertson, HIE's telecomms infrastructure manager, said the grants were a further signal that the agency was determined to ensure people and businesses in rural areas are able to play an active part in the broadband revolution. "We've been very encouraged at the vigour with which businesses and communities in the Highlands and Islands have already spoken up for broadband, especially in the last few months," said Mr Robertson. "The HIE network is already pursuing projects to increase the number of communities which can access broadband across the Highlands and Islands. "These new grants complement that strategy by offering local groups and SMEs extra help to reap the benefits of high speed internet access wherever the service is available." Applications can be made through any local enterprise company in the HIE network. Local Enterprise Companies in
the HIE Network |
17 June 03 Leading Scottish IT consultancy, Escape, will next month show businesses throughout the Highlands and Islands how they could shave almost £10,000 off their IT and internet bills by using new ADSL internet technology. The move comes as Highlands and Islands Enterprise today (17 June) announced grants up to the value of £1,200 are to be made available to local groups and businesses to help them upgrade to a variety of broadband telecommunications. According to Sales Manager for Escape’s new Inverness office, Gary Miller, these announcements are a “double whammy” for employers in the Highlands and Islands who can now make savings on two counts – first with the inherent savings that ADSL technology brings and second with a Highlands and Islands Enterprise grant: “This news should have businesses in the Highlands jumping for joy,” claims Gary Miller. “ADSL technology has the potential to save the average business that is currently using ISDN or leased line connections a minimum of £9,000 a year. And with the added bonus of the new HIE funded grant, you could be looking at making a total saving of £10,000.” Escape will next month be running a series of events in the region to allow businesses to see for themselves the benefits this technology can bring. Demonstrations will take place in major towns in the Highlands as well as Lerwick, Kirkwall and Stromness during July and will cover:
“Many of the businesses we have helped transfer to ADSL were using ISDN technology, costing them around £1,000 a month, or leased lines costing anything up to £2,000 a month,” explained Gary Miller. “Escape can provide clients with reliable and secure ADSL satellite technology for only £249 a month – a service which recently saved one of our Aberdeen clients £22,000. Businesses in the Highland’s and Islands can now look forward to making savings on a similar kind of scale.” To reserve a place at an Escape demonstration in your area call Garry Miller on 01463 248 900.
About Escape Business Technologies |
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