£15m tender secured to link thousands of properties to fast broadband

A contract win announced today should come to the rescue of thousands of premises in North Yorkshire without rapid, dependable broadband.

Bigblu Broadband, a listed provider of alternative broadband services, says its subsidiary Quickline Communications, has won a further competitive tender to provide improved broadband speeds to properties across North Yorkshire currently unable to access fast and reliable internet connectivity.

On behalf of North Yorkshire Local Authority and NYnet, the authority’s wholly owned high-speed connectivity provider, Quickline will extend its network using its fibre-backed fixed wireless technology to a further 15,830 premises in rural areas.

It means these properties will be able to connect to superfast, ultrafast and in some cases gigabit speed broadband services. 

The contract provides for a total network investment of £14.5m, which should lead to significantly faster broadband speeds in more isolated areas of North Yorkshire.

The programme will receive a subsidy of £12.3m from the authority in partnership with the Government’s broadband delivery programme, Building Digital UK (BDUK).

Quickline is committing £2.2m of network investment to support the roll-out and deliver and maintain the new infrastructure.

Given limited connectivity currently available in the contracted areas, Quickline says it expects to see strong take-up of broadband services, further increasing its market and customer base.

This is the fourth tender won by Quickline in quick succession under the BDUK Superfast Programme and follows a long period of engagement with both local authorities and BDUK regarding how best to improve connectivity in rural communities.

Today’s announcement follows a £9.1m contract, £7.6m subsidy, awarded by the Combined Authority of West Yorkshire, a contract for up to £8.1m of network investment with up to £6.1m of subsidy in Lincolnshire and a £1.8m contract, £1.4m subsidy awarded by the North Lincolnshire local authority.

In addition, Quickline was selected by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in February 2020 to lead a £6m 5G project to boost rural connectivity in North Yorkshire.

More than 32,000 premises will benefit from these four contracts.

Steve Jagger, CEO of Quickline, said: “We are thrilled to continue being part of connecting North Yorkshire in this fourth phase of rolling out Next Generation Access (NGA) superfast broadband. 

“Everyone in the UK should have access to high-speed internet no matter where they live or work and this contract means that up to 97% of all homes and businesses in the county will now have that ability to access Superfast broadband and in most cases Ultrafast broadband.

“This year, more than ever, we have seen how important it is to have online connectivity, giving people the ability to work remotely and to stay connected to family and friends, reducing isolation for many.”

 Andrew Walwyn, chief executive officer of Bigblu Broadband, added: “The scale of this latest win highlights the potential for Quickline to exceed initial expectations.

“As and when roll out, and more importantly delivery, commences in earnest we will see strong customer growth and the resultant impact on profitability.

“In addition to competing for new tenders we are excited by the potential impact of more Government funds being utilised on existing grants.”