Businesses across North Yorkshire are being urged to get up to speed with the latest Broadband technology.

Business Link York and North Yorkshire is inviting small to medium-sized businesses to inquire about their eligibility for a support scheme through which they could have up to half the cost of their initial Broadband connection and first year's subscription fees funded (to a maximum of £300).

Businesses that use Broadband say that it can increase productivity, save costs and improve employee satisfaction and, because Broadband connections are always on, users can access the internet at any time while only paying a flat rate every month.

The scheme supports any type of connection - ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), satellite, cable or wireless - and is available to businesses in North Yorkshire with fewer than 250 employees.

To be eligible, businesses must also:

have no existing internet connection or, if they do have an internet connection, it must be via traditional dial-up access (256 kbps or below)

have been trading for more than two months

be independently owned (that is not part of a larger group)

not be a member of Yorkshire Forward's Insight Programme

For more information and to view the full eligibility criteria visit www.here4business.co.uk, or phone the Business Link York and North Yorkshire Information Centre on 01904 686000.

Updated: 09:59 Wednesday, June 16, 2004