First Customer Live on New 50Mb Wireless Network in Rural Lincolnshire

Fixed Wireless ISP AB Internet has announced the connection of their first customer to its new 50Mbps capable wireless broadband network on the rural East Coast of Lincolnshire (England, UK), which is supported by £300k from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The pilot network, which was first announced in March 2013 (here), is intended to compliment Lincolnshire’s £48m BDUK and BT project (Onlincolnshire) for making fixed line superfast broadband (25Mbps+) connections available to “at least” 88% of all premises in the county by April 2016 (here).

Broadly speaking the new network aims to help potentially thousands of homes gain access to affordable broadband connectivity, which will offer packages of between 2Mbps and all the way up to 50Mbps (Megabits per second). At present many of the related civil parish villages receive woeful internet speeds of less than 1Mbps.

Lincolnshire Wards to Benefit

* Area 1: Ingoldmells, Chapel St Leonards, Willoughby, Sloothby

* Area 2: Old Leake, Wrangle, Frithville, Stickney, Sibsey

AB Internet reports that the first customer to connect via this new network finally went live today when the broadband pilot switched-on its service at the family resort of Fantasy Island in Ingoldmells (near Skegness), which will also help to offer the superfast speeds to local residents and businesses.

Neil Tucker, AB Internet’s Sales & Marketing Director, said:

“It’s nothing short of transformational. To see the expressions on the faces of users who are used to 0.5Mb, ‘cranking it up’ to a 50Mb connection, never fails to make me smile. It’s also fantastic to see that in Fantasy Island the local community has a champion whose motives extend further than its own benefit; giving back to the area is what it’s all about.”

Councillor Colin Davie, Executive Member for Economic Development, said:

“Good broadband is becoming more and more essential for both businesses and residents. That’s why local councils are investing heavily in improving connections across the county. This project is just the first step – over the next couple of years broadband speeds will dramatically increase everywhere in Lincolnshire.”

The ISP said that it expects to install up to another 20 transmitters in the area to widen and improve coverage over the “coming months” and they will also begin rolling out similar technology in the area around Old Leake and Wrangle.

Locals can learn more about the project by visiting AB Internet’s website or calling the ISP directly on 0800 952 0080.