Rural homes and businesses in the East Riding are starting to get improved broadband connections as part of Project Gigabit, the government-funded programme to enable hard-to-reach communities to access fast, reliable gigabit-capable broadband.
Broadband supplier Quickline has been awarded contracts to provide improved broadband in up to 25,000 rural premises in the county.
Quickline started work in the area in 2024 and to date, over 4500 premises have been connected and can now access gigabit-capable broadband.
Currently, work is ongoing in some of the region’s most rural areas, such as Holderness and the Wolds.
Josh Webster, a senior engineer at Quickline and one of the team involved in the rollout of full fibre across Holderness, grew up in the area and has close ties to the community.
He said: “I know first-hand how frustrating it’s been for people to struggle with poor connectivity – whether that’s children trying to do homework, businesses trying to operate online, or simply keeping in touch with friends and loved ones.
“I’m excited to see the difference the rollout will make for local families and businesses, and I’m proud to be part of making it happen.”
Gigabit-capable broadband provides a download speed of at least 1 gigabit per second (or 1000 megabits per second). It is at least twenty times faster than the current average broadband speed in the UK, enabling the download of a high definition film in less than one minute.
Project Gigabit is expected to run in the East Riding until 2028.
More information can be found at https://broadband.eastriding.gov.uk/
