Rural broadband users in North Yorkshire can be rescued from being trapped into contracts delivering poor broadband says a rival provider.

The company Quickline has launched what it calls a pioneering service to help customers who are tied up with such long contracts.

Many broadband providers charge hefty exit fees to customers who leave their contract early. It means people are often left to endure a poor quality service for months while they see out their contract.

But now Hull-based Quickline is giving customers the chance to join them for free until their existing contract runs out.

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Quickline’s “free until you’re free” offer – which they say is the only one of its kind in the industry – will help give rural customers the digital life they deserve.

Quickline delivers full fibre and fixed wireless broadband to rural communities, including in North Yorkshire.

The broadband provider says this new offer underlines its commitment to close the digital divide between urban and more remote areas.

Sean Royce, Quickline’s CEO, said: “We don’t believe any customer should suffer with a poor broadband service. Broadband is so important to daily life, from work to socialising, and choosing to live in a rural area shouldn’t be at the expense of having great internet access.

“That’s why we’ve launched this new initiative, which we believe is unique in the industry.

“For too long, many rural customers have been locked into lengthy contracts while receiving an unreliable, slow service. We think our new offer will change that and give customers a high-quality alternative.”

Customers who are unhappy with their current broadband provider, but are locked into a contract, can sign up for a 24-month package with Quickline.

They’ll switch over to receive their broadband from Quickline immediately, but crucially, they’ll pay nothing to Quickline until their existing contract runs out.

It’s one of several ways Quickline says it is helping transform the broadband experience for households and businesses in the rural communities it serves.

In a separate offer, new customers can choose to join Quickline for 90 days for free, with no hidden costs and no contract.

If they’re happy with the service at the end of the free period, they can sign up. If they’re not happy, they can leave with no charge or penalty.

The importance of connecting rural areas with quality broadband has been highlighted in new research commissioned by Virgin Media and economic consultancy Cebr.

It found that providing all rural areas with “excellent digital connectivity” could add £65.1bn to the UK economy and create over a quarter of a million jobs.

Quickline’s network – which covers North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire – focuses exclusively on rural areas.