HIGH speed broadband is being heralded as a major £19.5m boost to Cheshire’s economy.

More than 900 small and medium-sized businesses are expected to benefit from a £1.5m investment from the European Regional Development Fund and Connecting Cheshire.

The new Connecting Cheshire Superfast Broadband service will be delivered by Peninsula Enterprise and Groundwork Cheshire to help eligible businesses learn about and exploit the opportunities brought about by digital technology and fibre-optic broadband.

The service will work with small-to-medium-sized businesses, which are already benefiting from good connection speeds or where superfast broadband will be installed.

By helping businesses grow and increase their productivity, Superfast Business hopes to create about 478 jobs across Cheshire in the next two years and boost the economy by almost £19.5m.

Connecting Cheshire recently signed a £28.5m contract with BT to extend access to high-speed fibre optic broadband to 96 per cent of all premises by 2016.

Greville Kelly, director at Groundwork Cheshire, said: “Superfast broadband is about much more than speeding up your email or web browsing. It can transform all the ways that you do business.

“Superfast connections offer a more reliable and consistent service – which is a crucial issue for rural businesses – whilst opening up new markets and boosting productivity.

“We are urging ambitious businesses with strong growth potential to visit our new website and find out more about the service – it has the potential to revolutionise the way they operate.”

A new website, ccbusiness.co.uk, has been launched with a knowledge area that holds top tips, guides and the latest thinking from industry experts on digital technology and opportunities for businesses.

Eligible businesses will have access to fully-funded support, including a team of expert advisers, a programme of events on hot topics offering inspirational insights and practical solutions and specialists with niche expertise.

For more information visit ccbusiness.co.uk or call 0300 123 1696.