The UK Government has this morning announced that their publicly subsidised Project Gigabit broadband roll-out contracts, signed with alternative network ISP Quickline, have so far enabled over 60,000 homes and businesses in hard-to-reach areas across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire to access faster internet speeds.

The progress appears to reflect an aggregation of the latest roll-out figures from all four of Quickline’s contracts under the £5bn Project Gigabit scheme, which were also individually illustrated by the recent July 2026 progress update from the Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency (here).

NOTE: Quickline is funded by c.£500m from Northleaf Capital Partners, as well as c.£300m of public subsidy from four Project Gigabit contracts (here, here and here), plus c.£225m in term loans and debt guarantees from the National Wealth Fund and a £25m term loan from NatWest.

At the end of 2025 Quickline’s full fibre broadband network covered 200,000 premises (excluding fixed wireless coverage, which also covers c.200,000 premises – not all gigabit-capable) and the latest update reveals that they’ve now expanded this network to 260,000 premises across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The figure also includes their separate commercial build, which is complementing their Project Gigabit expansion.

The latest communities to benefit from Quicklink’s contracts are:

• Lincolnshire: Sutton St James, Tydd St Giles
• Villages to the west of Boston
• Burgh le Marsh and many villages between Skegness and Coningsby 
• East Riding / East Yorkshire: Newport & Gilberdyke. Around Beverley & Market Weighton such as Holme On Spalding Moore & Middleton-On-The-Wolds
• West Yorkshire: villages around Hebden Bridge such as Cragg Vale. Plus villages around Holmfirth etc, all around Huddersfield, west of Bradford, 
• North Yorkshire: Middleton Tyas nr Scotch Corner, plus Fylingthorpe nr Robin Hood’s Bay in the North York Moors, Hawes & Askirgg in the Yorkshire Dales, Marton Cum Grafton 
• Bishopthorpe near York

The roll-out is also creating opportunities beyond faster broadband. Quickline has supported more than 1,700 young people to learn more about skills and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). More than 130 people from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have gained hands-on experience through Quickline’s apprenticeship programme – all as a direct result of the £127m the firm has so far received through Project Gigabit (public funding).

Mark Bowden, Quickline CEO, said:

“At Quickline, we’ve always believed where you live shouldn’t determine the opportunities available to you. Through Project Gigabit, we’re proud to be working alongside the UK Government to bring gigabit-capable broadband to rural communities across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

More than 60,000 homes and businesses can now access gigabit-capable broadband through our Project Gigabit rollout, while, in total, our full fibre network now reaches some 260,000 premises across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. With many more communities set to benefit as we continue delivering our Project Gigabit contracts, we’re creating a network that will serve rural Britain for generations to come.”

Minister of State at the Department for Digital (DCMS), Ian Murray, said:

“Good broadband is about giving families, workers and local businesses the tools they need to get on, wherever they live.

This milestone is proof that Project Gigabit has put better digital opportunities into local communities across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire that have had to work around patchy connections for too long – whether that’s running a business from a rural village or taking a job that would once have felt out of reach.”

Consumers typically pay from £24.99 per month for a 200Mbps (symmetric speed) package on a 24-month minimum term, which rises up to £59.99 for their top 2,300Mbps speed; this includes a free router and installation, as well as Quickline’s pledge of no mid-contract price hikes. The operator currently aims to extend gigabit-capable broadband to 360,000 UK premises.

NOTE: Project Gigabit in the UK aims to help extend gigabit broadband (1000Mbps+) ISP networks to “nationwide” coverage (c.99% of UK premises) by 2032, focusing mostly on the final 10-20% in hard-to-reach areas. Some 91% of premises can already access such a network (here) and Ofcom are forecasting this could reach up to 95% by January 2029 (here).