MORE than 900 businesses in the Bournemouth area took advantage of government grants to get faster internet connections, the government says.

The 901 local businesses were among 3,630 in the South west and more than 55,000 nationwide to sign up to the Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme.

The scheme, which was due to run until next March, has now allocated all of the £40m that was available. It offered grants of up to £3,000 to cover installation costs.

The government chose the ‘Bournemouth City Region’ – defined as anywhere with a BH or DT postcode – as one of 50 locations for the initiative.

Westbourne-based internet service supplier C4L was among the companies involved in the scheme.

Digital economy minister Ed Vaizey said the scheme had been a “tremendous success”.

He added: “More than 55,000 small businesses across the UK have taken up the offer, many of which are already seeing significant boosts to their business as a result of improved broadband speeds.

“We’re transforming the UK’s digital landscape, helping cities to create new jobs and attract investment to make the UK an enviable business destination.”

Westbourne-based internet service provider C4L was among the companies involved in delivering the scheme.

Its chairman, Matt Hawkins, said: “By the government covering set up costs and removing barriers to improved service, over 900 Bournemouth businesses will no longer be hindered by domestic grade internet.

“As a supplier on the scheme, not only were we pleased to empower organisations with business calibre connectivity, enabling them to operate more competitively, but the initiative allowed C4L as a local internet provider to extend our network footprint in the South too.

“Prior to being an eligible area on the scheme, Bournemouth was announced as the fastest growing digital economy but now this has got our county one step closer to ultrafast internet speeds as the norm to play with, who knows what height our potential can reach.”

Dorset Growth Hub toured industrial estates in the county with a ‘digital van’ promoting the scheme.

The government says the vast majority of the vouchers were spent with local suppliers, with the “big three” of BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk only accounting for 14 per cent of the total value of the vouchers.

It said businesses benefiting from the connection were reporting an average of £1,300 year increase in profits, with a new job created for every four new connections.