Quickline has teamed up with charity Run With It in a three-year partnership that will help fund its expansion south of the Humber, alongside enrichment days to boost key work skills for young people.
Just under a quarter (23%) of respondents to a bOnline/TechRound survey are still operating on copper ADSL lines for their business internet activities, highlighting that a lack of education continues to hold back penetration.
A similar number (24%) believed they were on hybrid copper FTTC lines, with nearly a fifth not knowing. Most business owners (54%) were completely unaware that ADSL lines would become redundant.
According to the findings, the majority (72% in total) of those surveyed either want to be on FTTP (50%), are currently trying (7%) or have already upgraded (15%).
However, 70% of UK SME’s either don’t know if Openreach’s Ultrafast FTTP broadband has reached their area or believe that it is not yet available.
Anthony Karibian, CEO and founder of bOnline, said: “Small business owners simply don’t accurately know what is going on. The long-term cost to UK plc is significant with the country’s next generation of businesses being left to stall in the digital slow-lane.”