Alternative broadband ISP Quickline, which has deployed a mix of Full Fibre (FTTP) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) based networks across parts of Lincolnshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire in England, has today announced that they’ve covered 2,000 rural communities in just the past 12-months.
Some of the locations that are known to have benefitted from this deployment include the rural communities of Levisham (North York Moors National Park, with fewer than 100 residents), as well as Hainton (Lincolnshire) and the former mining village of Kinsley, near Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
However, we suspect that most of those befitting from the recent expansion have been reached by their wireless network, rather than FTTP, as evidenced by the recent Cellnex UK mast deal that claims to have benefitted 53,000 premises in its first year of operation (here).
Advertisement
All of this is currently being supported by an investment of £500m from Northleaf Capital Partners, which acquired the company in 2021. The funding fuels their future ambition to cover 500,000 UK premises in rural and semi-rural areas with “ultrafast broadband” via a mix of FTTP and 5G based FWA (wireless) infrastructure “by 2025” (here).
Sean Royce, Quickline’s CEO, said:
“People shouldn’t be disadvantaged by choosing to live in countryside areas and deserve to have the same internet experience as those living in large towns and cities. Fast and reliable internet access has never been so important. We know that improved internet access unlocks a better quality of life for everyone. It supports skills, jobs, education and entertainment.
Fast broadband means you can stream your favourite TV shows and films, enjoy online gaming, and video call your loved ones without disruption. That’s why we’re passionate about bringing fast and reliable broadband to left-behind communities, giving them the digital life they deserve.”
Residential customers covered by their wireless network pay from £35 per month for 50Mbps (15Mbps upload) with a free router and installation, which rises to £45 for their top 100Mbps (20Mbps upload) tier on a 24-month term. By comparison, those able to get FTTP are charged from £35 per month for 100Mbps (50Mbps upload) and that goes up to £65 for their top 900Mbps (450Mbps upload) tier.
This is good to see. A company using FWA in addition to fttp.
What bands are they using for the FWA?
presume it’s somewhere between 3.0ghz to 3.8ghz…
You won’t say that once you’ve experienced an FWA service, they’re universally panned for being bad.
Vince, I can’t speak for anyone other than my own experience but in North Lincolnshire I usually get their advertised speed and can’t say I have noticed any drop outs. The only other provision is fttc or 4g (the latter is very weak so poor speed). I’m not saying this is as good as fttp in an urban area but for rural Lincolnshire this is good in my firsthand experience.
Is Quickline pricing public or just has to be found with postcodes? They seem to charge differently based on the wireless technology used.