Could more agents get super-fast broadband this way

An agency in Oxford has become the first company to receive funding towards the cost of superfast broadband, in a scheme which could be used by lettings companies across the country.

RMA Properties in the Cowley area Oxford is the first business to be given a voucher to go towards the costs of installing broadband. The firm's voucher is worth £995 but others can range from £200 to £3,000.

They are available in 22 areas designed SuperConnected Cities' in a government programme to promote superfast broadband. The other cities are Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Derry/Londonderry, Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Newport, Perty, Portsmouth, Salford and York.

Catrina Norris, RMA Properties' office manager, says consumers will benefit from faster internet speeds.

When you have 10 people working in an office and they're trying to track down the best prices for a replacement freezer for a property, for example, the quicker we can do that and the more websites we can visit the better. In the long term, consumers will benefit because it helps us to source products which are better value for money - and the knock-on effect is that they save money too she says.

Details of the scheme are here: www.connectionvouchers.co.uk/superconnected-cities/