Project Gigabit is the UK government's programme to connect hard-to-reach areas which, without government intervention, would miss out on fast and reliable, gigabit capable broadband. It means households will no longer have to struggle with limited bandwidth, and businesses will be able to improve their productivity.
The latest win means Yorkshire-based Quickline is now one of a handful of providers across England with multiple Project Gigabit contracts, covering a combined total of more than 60,000 premises, worth more than £104 million in public funding.
The deal will fund the rollout of a full fibre network to up to 32,100 premises across rural South Yorkshire along with homes and businesses in East Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.
It comes just weeks after Quickline was awarded a £60 million Project Gigabit contract covering 29,000 rural premises in West Yorkshire and parts of North and East Yorkshire.
The new contract will result in the connection of outlying communities around Barnsley, Doncaster, Epworth, Goole, Maltby, Penistone, Rotherham, Sheffield and Worksop.
Quickline's full fibre network will be built using advanced XGS-PON technology, which can support speeds of up to 10Gbps.
The latest contract was awarded to Quickline following a competitive public procurement process and is worth £44 million in government subsidy.
Sean Royce, CEO at Quickline, said, "We are incredibly proud to have been awarded a second Project Gigabit contract and one that is again in a very important area for us.
"Our roots are in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and as a broadband provider we have a very strong regional focus. We employ people from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, we deliver broadband to the people of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and we want to play our part in the growth and economic development of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
"Winning the contract for South Yorkshire, on the back of the one for West Yorkshire, reinforces the important role Quickline is playing in connecting hard-to-reach communities across the region, and our role in supporting the government in achieving its ambitions.
"We remain steadfast in our mission to connect the unconnected and through our support of Project Gigabit we will continue to do that, changing and improving the lives of thousands of people who live in rural areas across Yorkshire."
Digital Infrastructure Minister, Julia Lopez, said, “Thanks to Project Gigabit, thousands of rural homes and businesses across South Yorkshire will soon be able to access the fastest broadband speeds on the market.
"Today marks an important milestone in our drive to tackle poor connectivity in Yorkshire. From Barnsley to Doncaster, patchy connectivity will soon be a thing of the past and lightning-fast broadband will open up new opportunities, driving employment and economic growth.
"Following the official signing of the contract, Quickline has rapidly commenced work in the region. Teams are now active in the village of Woodsetts in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham and the Westwoodside area of North Lincolnshire, with first customers set to be connected by the end of the summer."