Member Article

Digital Minister sees 5G in action at Butlins

Tourism in Lincolnshire is being given a huge boost thanks to a new 5G installation at caravan parks, according to residents.

Their comments come as internet provider Quickline welcomed Digital Minister Matt Warman to see its 5G technology in action at Butlins on Thursday (12th September 2019).

Quickline is the lead commercial partner for the 5G Rural Integrated Testbed consortium (5GRIT) and has developed a brand-new infrastructure to trial in caravan parks in Ingoldmells, including Butlins. It will also benefit local residents.

Natalie Ellis from the Customer Experience team at Butlins told the Minister she was delighted with the service and that she was so confident with the speeds she would happily recommend it to other customers.

Rob Gravil, who spends a lot of time with his family at their caravan at Butlins, demonstrated a live speed test. He said:

“We got speeds of over 300MB download. I can’t wait to tell my 13-year-old son. We also own a number of caravans which we rent out and access to the internet is always one of the first questions I get asked. This is going to really transform people’s experience.”

The new 5G installation is part of a multi-million-pound project partially-funded by the Government to connect poorly-served communities, paving the way for a future rollout of 5G technology across the UK.

Quickline’s Head of Sales, Hayley Silvester, said:

“It’s great to hear how customers are already benefitting from our 5G technology. The Minister was very knowledgeable about 5G and was very impressed with the speed of the residents’ connection as well as the price of our packages*.

“Tourists now expect high quality connectivity on holiday so that they can take and use their various bits of technology with them, like Xboxes, Sky Go and Netflix.”

Matt Warman, Minister for Digital and Broadband, said:

“We’re investing £200 million in 5G across the country and in Ingoldmells it’s helped bring 5G to the Great British institution that is Butlins.

“Testbeds like this one are exploring how 5G can boost Britain’s brilliant tourism experiences and help holidaymakers benefit from speeds up to twenty times faster than 4G.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Fiona Dwyer .