Broadband provider Quickline Communications has secured a second contract via the Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit initiative to deliver broadband in South Yorkshire.
The Willerby firm will now rollout a full fibre network to up to 32,100 premises across rural South Yorkshire, along with businesses in East Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. It follows an initial £60m contract through which Quickline is delivering infrastructure to hard-to-reach rural properties in West Yorkshire and the York area.
The new contract, worth around £44m in subsidy, will see the connection of outlying communities around Barnsley, Doncaster, Epworth, Goole, Maltby, Penistone, Rotherham, Sheffield and Worksop. It makes the £4.7m revenue Quickline, which is backed by Northleaf Capital Partners, one of only a handful of firms with Project Gigabit contracts.
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The firm will connect a further 29,000 homes and businesses as part of its commercial network build. The full fibre network it installs will be capable of supporting speeds of up to 10Gbps. Alongside the contract, Quickline has also promised a social value programme that includes creation of apprenticeships, work placements, mentoring and other activities.
Sean Royce, Quickline CEO, said: “We are incredibly proud to have been awarded a second Project Gigabit contract and one that is again in a very important area for us. Our roots are in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and as a broadband provider we have a very strong regional focus. We employ people from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, we deliver broadband to the people of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and we want to play our part in the growth and economic development of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
“Winning the contract for South Yorkshire, on the back of the one for West Yorkshire, reinforces the important role Quickline is playing in connecting hard-to-reach communities across the region, and how we are supporting the government in achieving its ambitions.”
Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez said: “Thanks to Project Gigabit, thousands of rural homes and businesses across South Yorkshire will soon be able to access the fastest broadband speeds on the market. Today marks an important milestone in our drive to tackle poor connectivity in Yorkshire. From Barnsley to Doncaster, patchy connectivity will soon be a thing of the past and lightning-fast broadband will open up new opportunities, driving employment and economic growth.”
Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber
