Quickline aims to attract the young back to the countryside

Quickline is taking over the customer base of the Lincolnshire-based community broadband company, Linpop.

Quickline, which is based in Hessle, East Yorkshire, has a turnover of more than £1m and employs 20 people.

Vaughan Kitchin, the founder of Linpop, said yesterday: “It has always been my vision to develop the rural North Lincolnshire area and the Trent Valley, as a major technological district for innovative online businesses, with a view to transforming the local community and reviving village life while, at the same time, reducing the carbon footprint.”

Mr Kitchin, from Lincoln, said he wanted to help rural businesses become more competitive by providing them with high speed broad- band.

He added: “We aim to attract the younger generation of entrepreneurs from the cities back to the countryside.

“With a very strong presence in Lincolnshire, Quickline is the ideal partner, and we see this as a major opportunity to provide work for rural communities that are dying through a lack of suitable work for the younger generation.”

Mr Kitchin said he hoped to see young web designers, media designers, film-makers and internet entrepreneurs returning to Lincolnshire.

Steve Jagger, the managing director of Quickline said: “We are delighted with this new opportunity.

“As an independent wireless internet service provider, we have invested in our own technology since 2007, which means that we can provide an excellent service and keep overheads and customer costs under con- trol.”

The deal has been completed for an undisclosed sum.