London, August 1st, 2017 – M247, the UK’s fastest-growing connectivity provider, has been named as a preferred supplier of Westminster City Council’s Connect Westminster scheme, a £2.8m project enabled by the European Regional Development Fund.
SMEs estimate they could lose more than £10,000 per year due to connectivity issues. Westminster borough works with leading providers to offer local SMEs ultrafast connections, aiding business growth.
The recent London Assembly report, Digital Connectivity in London, states that “London’s economic productivity and international competitiveness face a significant threat in the form of poor digital connectivity”[1]. M247 research shows 1 in 10 small businesses don’t have the level of connectivity required to run their business as productively as they’d like and over half of small businesses have had connectivity frustrations over the past month [2]. This demonstrates a critical need for the scheme as the council looks to increase the provision of cost-effective ultrafast broadband. This is the second time that M247 (formally Venus Business Communications) has participated as one of the top five providers in the scheme.
Neil Rampe, Managing Director of M247 London, comments, “Many SMEs are operating at a disadvantage in London with 82 percent of SMEs believing that improved connectivity would enhance business performance . The Connect Westminster initiative is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to receive those services at a better value so that they can contribute even more to the local and national economy.”
M247 owns its own network, fleet and team of expert engineers. This means more control, industry leading SLAs and minimum disruption times. It also delivers both FTTC and wireless leased lines, meaning faster speeds and improved quality of data transfer, while reaching even the biggest black spots with industry-leading radio and microwave technology.
Elizabeth Crowther-Hunt, Chief Executive of Westminster Business Council says, “This funding is critical for Westminster businesses to grow and drive the UK economy, competing on a national and international level. Through the scheme, companies such as M247 will give SMEs the connectivity required to compete in today’s fast paced business environment.”
With a complete set of products, including connectivity, VoIP, hosting and security, M247 is set to serve all the needs of SMEs to work faster, more efficiently and become more profitable with just one point of contact – one provider who wholly owns installations and on-going service needs.
M247 has six sites across the UK and Europe, hosting the greenest datacentres in Romania, and is connected to over 17 global internet exchange points, including New York, London, Singapore, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Its reach and presence in the capital is a result of the recent acquisition of Venus Business Communications, which was completed in March this year.
[1] https://www.westminster.gov.uk/better-broadband
[2] M247 London SME Survey, June 2017.
