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'Lightning speed' broadband plan for rural areas

PA Media Brown cliff edge with the sea lapping up against it and settlement in the far distancePA Media
Currently some rural areas have very minimal connectivity

More than108,000 homes and businesses across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are expected to get "lightning fast" broadband as part of a £5bn nationwide project.

A £190m contract was awarded to provider Quickline to improve coverage in both counties as part of the previous government's Project Gigabit programme.

It is expected to deliver faster broadband speeds to rural and remote premises across Lincolnshire, including the Fens; and those in Settle, Whitby and Scarborough in North Yorkshire; Holme upon Spalding Moor to Kilham, and the Holderness villages in East Yorkshire.

The Conservative leadership previously said its scheme would give households access to speeds of 1,000Mbps. The UK average is about 73Mbps.

'Really significant'

Ministers invested £5bn in contracts because it wanted 85% of the population to have access to "lightning fast" broadband by 2025.

Up to 52,000 premises in Lincolnshire, more than 36,000 in North Yorkshire and 20,000 in East Yorkshire will benefit, according to Quickline, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Currently some of the areas have very minimal connectivity.

Labour's digital infrastructure minister Chris Bryant said the local £190m investment would "heal the headache of endless buffering felt by too many in rural communities".

Quickline Two contractors in orange high-vis vest digging a lawned garden. In the background there is a red barrier and purple van with the words: 'Broadband built for you' on itQuickline
Work is already under way to install faster broadband in rural locations

Quickline, which is based in Willerby, East Yorkshire, said work was under way near Settle in North Yorkshire and around North Kelsey in the West Lindsey area.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council said rollout in its area was expected to start "in the coming months and run for the next four years".

Its deputy leader David Tucker said good quality internet access was "critical" to delivering services to rural communities.

North Yorkshire Council's leader Carl Les said 85% of the county was classed as very rural or "super sparsely populated".

He added: “To have such a large part of the county benefiting from one of the new contracts is really significant."

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