Slow and unreliable workplace broadband might be a major issue for small businesses in rural locations but it seems it is even more of a problem for the 1 million SMBs in London, who could be missing out on nearly £22bn a year in income due to the prohibitive cost of fast and dependable connectivity.
So says a new analysis from G Network, which maintains that the high costs, along with the complexity of securing reliable services, is leaving many of the capital’s SMBs at a huge disadvantage in terms of productivity, innovation, and competitiveness.
Working with Censuswide and Development Economics, researchers surveyed senior leaders and business owners at the London’s SMBs, with the results used in conjunction with ONS data to establish the overall economic impact on revenue.
At 1.05 million firms, London has the highest number of SMBs in the UK. These businesses account for 99.8% of all businesses in the capital.
The study found broadband issues have negatively affected productivity for a quarter of all employees over the past three months, leading to an estimated annual lost output of £5.34bn, potentially totalling nearly £22bn for the year.
More than half of senior leaders and business owners said they had considered moving office locations to get better access to faster and more reliable Internet services, with four-in-ten stating they cannot serve clients in the way they would like due to connectivity problems.
A quarter admitted that problems with slow or unreliable broadband have caused them to lose out on business. Similarly, almost half (47%) said employee productivity is often undermined by poor connectivity.
SMBs identified quicker response times to clients and customers as two of the key benefits they could reap from improved connectivity.
G Network claims this productivity gap is only likely to get worse, with poor connectivity compromising SMB’s ability to leverage emerging technologies and remain competitive in an increasingly digital economy.
John Dickie, CEO of London business advocacy group BusinessLDN, said: “The capital’s 1 million SMBs play a key role in powering growth and productivity.
“This important research not only underlines the connectivity challenges that businesses in the capital are facing, but also shines a light on the fantastic growth opportunity that lies ahead, for London and the wider UK, should access to fast and reliable broadband be improved.”
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