An additional 15,830 homes and businesses in North Yorkshire will be able to connect to superfast broadband thanks to the latest phase of the Superfast North Yorkshire programme.
The majority of residents will get access at more than 100Mbps with an aspiration for all 15,830 to receive over 100Mbps by the end of the programme.
North Yorkshire County Council and its wholly-owned company, NYnet, have awarded the contract to deliver Next Generation Access (NGA) superfast broadband coverage to the additional premises to Quickline Communications Ltd.
This latest phase of the Superfast North Yorkshire programme will result in up to 97 per cent of all homes and businesses in the county having the ability to connect to superfast broadband. Take-up across North Yorkshire from previous phases funded through the scheme has risen to 70 per cent.
In partnership with Building Digital UK (BDUK), the Government’s broadband delivery programme, the County Council is the principal funder of the £14.5m Superfast North Yorkshire phase four initiative. The contract will receive funding of £12.3m from the County Council with Quickline Communications Ltd investing £2.2m to deliver and maintain the new infrastructure.
County Councillor Don Mackenzie, Executive Member for Access, said: “We are committed to bringing access to superfast broadband to communities across North Yorkshire. Our SFNY project in its first three phases has provided 190,000 properties with access to high-quality broadband. This latest phase of the programme is vital as we extend that connectivity to more people in the most remote areas of the county.
“Access to high-quality broadband is essential to support business, education, employment opportunities and many aspects of daily life, now more than ever as we strive to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This phase will offer people the opportunity to access social, medical and care services remotely, as well as enabling communities and businesses to connect easily and efficiently to help them to remain competitive, sustainable and prosperous.”
Quickline Communications Ltd is renowned for delivering fast, reliable internet connectivity to business, public sector and residential customers via independent fibre and fixed wireless access networks. Now, working with the County Council and NYnet Ltd, it has the opportunity to provide much-needed superfast broadband infrastructure and connectivity to residents, communities and businesses across rural North Yorkshire. Details of locations to benefit from this latest phase of expansion will be published shortly.
Steve Jagger, Chief Executive Officer of Quickline Communications Ltd, 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 you live or work and this contract means that up to 97 per cent of all homes and businesses in the county will now have that ability to access Superfast broadband and in most cases speeds of 100Mbps or more.
“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.”
To find out if your home is covered under the new roll out visit the Superfast North Yorkshire availability checker.