Leicestershire County Council has teamed with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to boost connectivity in public sector buildings across hard-to-reach areas.
![Eswick](/sites/default/files/styles/news_story_image/public/2024-05/Eswick.jpg?h=b16d3dd8&itok=hq4RgfmH)
Quickline has begun connecting premises in West Yorkshire and York, through its Project Gigabit contract won three months ago.
Escrick, a small rural community to the south of York with around 380 households, is the first regional community to go live on the altnets network.
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 £44m contract awarded to Quickline earlier this year.
Sean Royce, CEO at Quickline, said: “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.”
“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.”