BDUK Extends UK Rural Broadband Subsidy Scheme to Wireless ISP

In an interesting development the Government appears to have extended its £60m 2Mbps for all rural broadband (USC) subsidy scheme to include fixed wireless ISP Quickline in Lincolnshire (England), which is big change from the initial focus on Satellite based solutions.

The scheme was officially established at the end of 2015 (here) and focused upon an estimated 300,000 UK premises that might not benefit from the Broadband Delivery UK roll-out of “superfast” (24Mbps+) fixed line broadband services. Broadly it’s been seen as a quick-fix solution to help meet the original ‘2Mbps for all‘ Universal Service Commitment (USC).

In simple terms it offered grants worth up to around £350 that could be used to reduce the initial cost of having a Satellite broadband connection installed. However not everybody is a fan of inferior Satellite connectivity and initial uptake appears to have been very low (here), which might explained why the Government appears to be diversifying their approach.

In keeping with the above we note that Quickline, which supplies superfast capable fixed wireless Internet connectivity to parts of England, confirms that it too has been “approved onto the BDUK Supplementary Scheme which aims to provide a free subsidy for people who currently have access to internet speeds of 2Mbps or less.”

Quickline Statement

This is part of the government’s commitment to give access to 2Mbps download speeds to all premises in the UK. Local authorities in conjunction with Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) are making available the option of a subsidised basic broadband installation for eligible premises in Lincolnshire, which is notorious for its poor internet connections due to the vast rural area.

With Quickline’s wireless service, this voucher will make the installation completely free for residential properties in parts of Lincolnshire, in particular West Lindsey.

If you do not currently have access to broadband speeds of more than 2Mbps already, you may be eligible for the voucher.

Fixed wireless connectivity is a far more capable option than Satellite and Quickline already has a reasonably well developed Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) network in Lincolnshire, not to mention that they’ve also been involved in one of BDUK’s local pilot schemes (here).

Subscribers would ordinarily pay around £150 (one-off) for installation on a 24 month contract term and then £29.99 per month for an unlimited 10Mbps service, which rises to £59.99 if you want a 50Mbps connection. Obviously under the new approach this installation would now be free, assuming you live in the county of course and are within reach of the network.

The decision to pick Quickline as an approved supplier suggests that the Government are slowly opening up their funding to non-Satellite alternatives, which is a good thing.