More than 60,000 homes and businesses in rural Yorkshire and Lincolnshire can now access faster broadband as part of the UK Government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit programme.
The latest rollout has brought gigabit-capable connections to communities around Barnsley, Huddersfield, Hull, Bradford, York, Boston and Wisbech, with further villages and rural areas being connected each week.
The government said the improved connectivity would help families make video calls and stream content more reliably, while giving students better access to online learning and helping small businesses reach customers, process payments and work remotely.
Among the latest communities to benefit are Winterton in North Lincolnshire, Fosdyke in Lincolnshire, and Sessay and Linton-on-Ouse in Yorkshire.
The rollout is being delivered by broadband provider Quickline, which has received £127 million in government funding through Project Gigabit.
The company said its full-fibre network now reaches around 260,000 premises across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, with further expansion planned under its Project Gigabit contracts.
Ian Murray, Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said reliable broadband should not depend on where people live.
“Good broadband is about giving families, workers and local businesses the tools they need to get on, wherever they live,” he said.
The government said the latest milestone would help rural communities that have faced unreliable or slow internet connections for years, potentially opening up new opportunities for home working, education and business.
Quickline has also linked the broadband programme to wider skills and employment initiatives. The company said it has introduced more than 1,700 young people to science, technology, engineering and mathematics through educational programmes, including workshops for primary school pupils in East Yorkshire.
More than 130 people from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have also gained practical experience through the company’s apprenticeship programme, which Quickline said was supported by its Project Gigabit investment.
Quickline chief executive Mark Bowden said the company wanted the project to have an impact beyond broadband infrastructure.
“Where you live shouldn’t determine the opportunities available to you,” he said, adding that the company aimed to reduce digital exclusion, support local communities and encourage young people to consider careers in STEM.
The impact of the upgrades is already being reported by residents.
One family of five in North Lincolnshire said replacing their old copper connection with full-fibre broadband meant family members could stream, play online games and work from home at the same time without major slowdowns.
In East Yorkshire, resident Margaret said the upgrade had made it easier to keep in touch with friends and relatives after years of unreliable broadband.
Project Gigabit is designed to extend high-speed broadband to areas where commercial operators have been less likely to invest, particularly rural communities.
The government said more than 1.3 million premises across the UK have already benefited from broadband upgrades supported by the programme.
With further rollout planned, the latest expansion in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire is expected to bring gigabit-capable broadband to thousands more rural homes and businesses.
