Quickline Train UK Broadband Engineers to Support Pensioners
Rural-focused broadband ISP Quickline, which is deploying a new gigabit speed full fibre (FTTP) and fixed wireless (FWA) network across remote parts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in England (3-Year Rollout Plan), has joined forces with Age UK to help improve the training of their engineers so they can better support older and vulnerable residents.
The altnet operator’s installation engineers are now being trained by the charity to “better understand the needs of older customers, recognise potential concerns and ensure people feel confident and supported when welcoming engineers into their homes“. The work will later be extended to include customer service, sales and technical support teams.
In addition, Quickline will fund a new digital support initiative that will enable housebound people to make better use of their broadband connection and digital devices. Under this approach, Age UK Hull and East Yorkshire will take referrals and visit eligible residents in their homes, helping them learn how to use the internet, access online services and build confidence with devices such as tablets and smartphones.
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Quickline will then help Age UK Hull and East Yorkshire to expand their existing IT support groups, reaching more rural communities across the East Riding of Yorkshire. “These regular drop-in sessions are facilitated by Age UK Hull and East Yorkshire Digital Champions and a Digital Co-ordinator,” added the announcement.
Rachel Bowerman, Social Values Manager at Quickline, said:
“Many of the communities we serve across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have a higher proportion of older residents.
We want every customer to feel confident, comfortable and supported when we connect their homes.
Working with Age UK Hull and East Yorkshire will help our teams better understand the needs of older customers and deliver the best possible experience.
At the same time, funding digital skills support will help ensure people can make the most of the connectivity we’re bringing to their communities.”
The initiative forms part of Quickline’s wider social value commitment under the UK government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband roll-out scheme.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Although well intentioned, in practice it will not work.
These engineers don’t have time to sit around and answer questions, they have another 20 installs to do later that day. They just want to be in and out and move on to the next job.