Tim Jopling has lived in the Hutton Rudby area all his life, and he shares how Quickline delivered proper helpful broadband to his village.
The North Yorkshire village, near Yarm, is the kind of close-knit rural community many people dream of calling home – complete with pubs, a village shop, a school and countryside on the doorstep. But for years, unreliable broadband was an issue there.
For Tim, founder of financial services business Direct Financial Solutions, poor connectivity was more than an inconvenience. Working from home meant a dependable internet connection was essential.
“I’ve been fortunate to travel to lots of places in the world, but I’ve ended up living just two miles from where I was born,” said Tim. “It’s pretty close to perfect for me – except the internet had always been unreliable.”
Like many rural residents, Tim had grown used to frustration. Video calls would drop, speeds fluctuated and everyday internet use became a constant battle for the whole family.
“When my sons were growing up, they did a lot of gaming and it caused us issues,” said Tim. “We were promised an improved level of service by another provider, but that never transpired. I’d ring them up and it would get better for a couple of weeks, then it started going down again.”
So, when Tim started seeing Quickline vans in the village and noticed new infrastructure being installed, he was eager to make the switch.
“I thought I definitely needed to get on that as soon as possible,” he said.
However, there was an unexpected complication. Tim’s property hadn’t been included in the original plans for the area, meaning connecting him to the new network wasn’t straightforward.
That was when Quickline Area Build Manager Phil Merifield stepped in.
“I’d picked up on a conversation internally about a guy who couldn’t get service from us, even though all his neighbours could,” said Phil. “One weekend I was working on one of our wireless masts just down the road and thought I’d pop across and have a look.”
After speaking with Tim and investigating the issue, Phil discovered the root of the problem.
“When the area was originally planned, Tim’s house wasn’t there, so we didn’t have his details on the information supplied about the properties needing connection,” he explained. “Getting that corrected was quite difficult and it took a bit of time, but eventually we got it resolved.”
For Tim, what stood out most was Phil’s determination to help.
“He was one of the more exceptional people you come across from time to time, and he really took ownership of the issue,” said Tim. “He called me back whenever he said he would. That might sound like a simple thing, but it isn’t always the case.
“He was trying really hard to solve a problem that I had. He did such a good job for me that I actually emailed the Operations Director and CEO at Quickline to tell them.”
Phil says that customer-first mindset is central to Quickline’s approach.
“I was brought up to believe you put your customers first,” he said. “I also grew up in a very rural community, so I know what it’s like to have poor broadband.
“Tim works from home and he needs decent broadband, so it needed sorting. I get a lot of satisfaction from making someone’s life that bit better.”
Today, Tim says the difference has been transformational.
“Now I can work at home and the internet connection is as good as it is at my office in Stokesley,” he said. “It’s seamless and we don’t have any issues at all.
“I’m also paying less than I was previously and getting a better service.”
The improvement has benefited the whole household, too.
“I don’t get a hard time from my wife and daughter anymore if they can’t get online,” Tim laughed.
For Quickline, stories like Tim’s reflect the company’s wider mission to bring fast, reliable broadband to underserved rural communities while delivering a genuinely personal service.
“We want to be the most loved broadband provider in the regions we work in,” said Phil. “The way we do that is by going the extra mile.
“Quickline delivered proper helpful broadband. It’s a simple ethos, and it works.”
Tim agrees – and he’s encouraging others in the village to make the switch.
“We’re all so reliant on the internet now, whether it’s operating your house or running your business,” he said. “You need a good connection.
“I’ve recommended Quickline to other people in the village, and I’ll continue to do so.”
You can watch the full video now:
