Eight thousand rural homes and businesses are set to benefit from ultrafast connectivity in an £8.1 million network expansion by a Hessle-based specialist.
Wireless internet provider Quickline Communications has been awarded a huge contract, with Lincolnshire County Council issuing £6.1 million of Building Digital 海角视频 funding to extend the fibre-backed fixed wireless network.
Hayley Silvester, new business director at Quickline - now the largest hybrid network provider in the country with a rapidly expanding coverage area - said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been given the opportunity to provide ultrafast speeds to thousands more premises across Lincolnshire.
“No single solution fits all, which is why our innovative and bespoke approach to bring high-speed internet connectivity to the hardest to reach parts of the county is so effective.
“We work closely with communities to find the best solution for their specific area. By using a combination of both wireless and fibre technology we can ensure the best possible result for all of our customers and unrivalled connectivity, where more mainstream companies would struggle.”
The programme will receive an initial subsidy of up to £4.6 million, with £3.1 million of funding confirmed from the Lincolnshire local authority and £1.5 million confirmed from the European Regional Development Fund. A further £1.5 million is available subject to certain conditions being met, while Quickline is also committing £2 million of investment to support the roll-out.
Speeds of up to 100Mbps will be achieved.
Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for the broadband project on Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Never before have the advantages of fast and reliable broadband been more obvious than over the last few months. The work we’ve done already to connect over 172,000 properties will have proved a lifeline to those homes and businesses during this intense period.
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“Now I’m pleased that we can add a further 8,000 properties to that total in this third phase of the project.
“As more and more areas become connected, those that are left are usually the hardest to reach, in the most remote, rural locations. This is why it’s promising to work with Quickline, who will work up bespoke technological solutions to get Lincolnshire connected.”
The Lincolnshire Superfast Programme contract comes a year after £12 million in working capital was secured from Quickline’s parent company, BigBlu Broadband, which has allowed them to significantly increase the size and scale of its fixed wireless access business to target a customer base of approximately 30,000 subscribers over three years.
Andrew Walwyn, chief executive of Bigblu Broadband, said: “We are delighted that Quickline has secured this contract - highlighting the benefits of last year’s funding, which affords it the flexibility for it to tender for capital intensive contracts as it targets a customer base of approximately 30,000 subscribers over the next three years.”