Quickline Complete Wireless Broadband Pilot in North Lincolnshire

Fixed wireless ISP Quickline has confirmed that they’ve completed the roll-out of their alternative 50Mbps capable superfast wireless broadband network in northern Lincolnshire (East England), which is being funded by £2m of state aid from the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK project.

The deployment was one of seven Market Test Pilots (MTP) to proceed as part of the BDUK supported £10 million Innovation Fund, which was only last month hailed as a “success” (here). All of the pilots are required to have deployed their networks by the end of March 2016.

The setup is based off a network of primary wireless mast distribution sites that are connected by 28GHz (Ceragon) links as part of a mesh backbone architecture. After that the service itself is distributed out to end-users via Cambium Networks kit working in the 5GHz band and customers also need to have a small antenna (aerial) installed on top of their homes.

Quickline’s Trial Details

NGA technologies:
Testing a range of line of sight, near line of sight, and non-line of sight technologies to build a superfast wireless network.

Project size
Premises cleared for State Aid (intervention area): 4,211
Forecast premises passed by the pilot: 4,211 (100% of the intervention area)
Forecast premises connected by March 2016: 2,305 (55% of the premises passed)

Summary project costs
BDUK funding for infrastructure capital costs: £2,000,000
Total infrastructure capital costs: £2,447,037.87
Public subsidy per premises passed: £475
Cost per premises passed (intervention area): £581

However at present the local take-up of Quickline’s service remains below the above target and sits at around 200 customers, although in our view this isn’t surprising given how recent the network deployment is (it often takes a year or more before you can start to get a good gauge of real-world adoption).

Steve Jagger, Managing Director of Quickline, said:

“Project delivery is within both budget and timescales set by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and we are very pleased to have achieved 100% coverage of the area we were allocated. This demonstrates that wireless internet is one of the potential solutions to the UK’s broadband coverage problem and provides a viable alternative to traditional telecoms providers.”

To prove the commercial viability of the project we are connecting customers to the network. We have had early success with new customers, and our marketing campaign is underway, the success of which will determine the pilot’s full potential.”

Ed Vaizey, Digital Economy Minister, said:

“Our Market Test Pilots have demonstrated that there are a range of technologies that can successfully deliver superfast speeds in rural areas, and Quickline have demonstrated how effective wireless technologies can be in connecting some of the hardest to reach areas of the UK. Lessons learned from the pilots will be instrumental in helping us reach our target of fast broadband for all by 2020.”

Assuming the packages being offered are the same as on Quickline’s website then the installation fee for their service is usually £150 (could be less in the pilot areas) and the monthly rental options are as follows (remember that you don’t require separate fixed line rental for wireless connections).

Home Connect 10
* Download speeds of up to 10Mbps
* Unlimited usage
* 24 Month Contract

PRICE: £29.99 per month

Home Connect 30
* Download speeds of up to 30Mbps
* Unlimited usage
* 24 Month Contract

PRICE: £39.99 per month

Home Connect 50
* Download speeds of up to 50Mbps
* Unlimited usage
* 24 Month Contract

PRICE: £59.99 per month