The UK government is urging businesses to apply for grants worth up to £3,000 to improve broadband speeds and connectivity as part of its "Connection Vouchers" scheme.
They are being supplied in the form of a voucher to help firms cover the costs of installing and running fibre-optic connections.
The scheme is available to businesses in 22 cities around the UK, which have until March 2015 to apply.
In a statement, Whitehall said that the grants are being issued to help cities create and attract new jobs and investment, and that almost 3,000 UK businesses have received grants to date.
The funding comes as part of the £150 million set aside by the Government as part of its 'SuperConnected Cities' programme, which is being managed by BDUK, a division within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The programme is running side-by-side with the Government's roll out of fibre-optic broadband to rural parts of the country, which has reached more than 1 million homes to date and aims to cover 95% of UK areas by 2017.
Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: "We want to make sure that small businesses have the help and support they need to grow and prosper in our digital age. That is why we are providing these grants to help small businesses meet their challenges.
"I urge all eligible small businesses to apply straight away and help boost their businesses with faster broadband."
