Yorkshire village becomes region’s first to get full fibre broadband under government’s Project Gigabit rollout

The milestone comes just three months after the contract was secured by the East-Yorkshire based provider under the government’s UK-wide £5 billion Project Gigabit programme, designed to bring lightning-fast network upgrades to hard-to-reach areas which would otherwise have missed out.

Escrick is a small rural community to the south of York with around 380 households, very few local services and no mains gas supply. It is the very first community in Yorkshire to benefit from Quickline’s deployment of full fibre broadband under the contract which was awarded in February this year. The contract will see the rollout of a full fibre network to more than 28,000 hard-to-reach homes and businesses in West Yorkshire and the York area.

A further 32,000 rural premises in South Yorkshire are also set for Project Gigabit upgrades under a separate £44 million contract awarded to Quickline earlier this year.

The addresses in Escrick represent the first tranche of premises now able to benefit from Quickline’s full fibre network with deployment to the remainder of the village due over the coming weeks and months.

The newly connected properties are now using cutting edge XGS-PON technology for their broadband, offering speeds of a gigabit and beyond.

Emma Tonkins, the first customer to be installed, said: “We have so many devices at home that are connected to the internet and we probably watch streaming services more often than regular television now so when we lose picture quality and get buffering it is quite frustrating.

“We just want to know that our broadband is reliable. We use the internet the same as anyone else, regardless of where we live and need to be able to rely on it working all the time, especially as more and more services move online.”

Sean Royce, CEO at Quickline, said: “Winning the government Project Gigabit contract was a huge honour for us at Quickline but importantly, we want to ensure we make an impact quickly. That means we are building straight away, connecting customers straight away and taking communities out of the slow lane faster than other providers.

“As a dedicated rural provider, we know there are thousands of people who have long been underserved by decent broadband and it is imperative this is addressed as soon as possible.

“We are delighted to be able to make a difference to the lives of the people living in Escrick just three months after signing the contract and will continue to deliver our network quickly and efficiently to those hard-to-reach communities most in need of improved connectivity.

“When you consider there is no mains gas supply to Escrick, it really does emphasise the type of rural communities where we build and that Project Gigabit is tackling.

“This milestone underscores Quickline’s absolute commitment to bridging the digital divide and empowering rural communities across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.”

Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez said: "It's fantastic to see our multi-million-pound investment in Yorkshire now delivering top-of-the-range broadband upgrades in rural areas previously stuck with snail's pace speeds.

"This is only the beginning of our plans for Yorkshire. Work is now underway to bring lightning-fast, ultra-reliable connections to dozens more villages and hamlets across the region, supercharging our mission to drive economic growth and expand opportunity for people wherever they live or work."