Bigblu subsidiary wins another rural broadband tender

Bigblu Broadband announced on Monday that its subsidiary Quickline Communications has won a further competitive tender to provide “significantly improved” broadband speeds to premises across North Lincolnshire, which are unable to access fast and reliable internet connectivity at present.

The AIM-traded firm said that on behalf of the North Lincolnshire Council, Quickline would extend its network using both fixed wireless and full-fibre technologies to a further 1,500 premises in rural areas to connect to ‘superfast’, ‘ultrafast’ and, in some cases, gigabit-speed broadband services.

It said the contract provided for a total network investment of £1.8m, leading to “significantly faster” broadband speeds in the more isolated areas of North Lincolnshire within two years.

The programme would receive a subsidy of up to £1.4m, with £1.0m from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and £0.4m of funding from the North Lincolnshire Council.

Quickline was committing £0.4m of network investment to support the roll-out.

Given the limited connectivity currently available in the contracted areas, Quickline was expecting to see “strong” take-up of broadband services, further increasing its addressable market and customer base.

Quickline was also expecting to deliver at least its targeted return on capital of around 15% over the life of the contract.

“The variety of solutions we provide means that we are well placed to build on the recent tender wins,” said Quickline chief executive officer Steve Jagger.

“We continue to work closely with the government and local authorities and are delighted to be able to further grow our reach through this latest win.

“We believe that there is significant scope for us to help close the digital divide and we look forward to supporting further initiatives in due course.”

Andrew Walwyn, chief executive officer of Bigblu Broadband, added that the company was “delighted” by the continued progress at Quickline as it took advantage of the “significant growth opportunity”.

“Its strong technology portfolio means that it is extremely well placed to support the government's ambition of nationwide gigabit coverage by 2025.

“With the combination of government tenders, mergers and acquisitions, and organic investment underpinning its strategy, we remain excited by the expected pace of growth.”

At 1219 BST, shares in Bigblu Broadband were down 0.32% at 85.2p.