£40m to be invested in 'ultrafast' broadband in Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes residents and businesses are set to be given faster broadband as part of a £40m project.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Jan 2018, 17:04 BST
Updated 18th Jan 2018, 17:07 BST

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

Only three per cent of the UK has access to this 'ultrafast' broadband which will soon be installed across MKOnly three per cent of the UK has access to this 'ultrafast' broadband which will soon be installed across MK
Only three per cent of the UK has access to this 'ultrafast' broadband which will soon be installed across MK

MK is set to become a leading hi-tech city, with news that it is the first community to benefit from Gigabit-capable full fibre broadband under the new Vodafone and CityFibre Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) programme.

The project will see a private investment from CityFibre of at least £40 million into a state-of-the-art digital infrastructure for Milton Keynes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It means Vodafone will be able to provide residents of Milton Keynes with extremely fast broadband services capable of Gigabit speeds (1,000 mbps). At that speed, MK Hospital will be able to download a two gigabyte CT scan in just 17 seconds instead of 11 minutes over a standard broadband connection. And film fans will be able to download the latest 25 gigabyte Ultra-HD blockbuster in just under nine minutes instead of six hours.

Most Popular

FTTP is currently only available to around three per cent of premises across the UK. It is recognised as the ‘gold standard’ in connectivity for its speed, near unlimited bandwidth and reliability.

Milton Keynes was chosen as the first city because of the city’s 'strong tech sector', the council’s 'forward-looking commitment' to smart city initiatives, and the strength of its support for the project.

CityFibre will start construction of the new FTTP network in Milton Keynes in March this year. This will be an extension of its existing 160km full fibre network in the city. Once completed, nearly every business and home in Milton Keynes will have FTTP access.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Vodafone UK Chief Executive Nick Jeffery said: "Milton Keynes is fast becoming a UK leader for productivity and growth, with its economic prospects only likely to improve following the opening of the East West Rail project.

"We believe that residents deserve a digital communications service to match their ambitions. This is why we are providing gigabit-capable connections to transform the way we live and work.”

Greg Mesch, Chief Executive at CityFibre, added: “The partnership between Vodafone and CityFibre aims to tackle the huge problem the UK faces in terms of digital inadequacy and will help fulfil our vision of a Gigabit Britain.

"We are at the early stages of creating the Gigabit fibre network that the UK needs and deserves, and with the announcement of Milton Keynes as our first project we are well on our way to making this vision a reality. Full speed ahead.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And Milton Keynes Council leader Pete Marland said: “We are delighted that Milton Keynes has been selected as the first city in this full fibre roll-out by Vodafone and CityFibre.

"As a modern city that prides itself on its smart city ambitions and projects, we are perfectly positioned to make the most of this major private investment in our digital infrastructure. We know that the city will get behind this project to ensure that every home and business unlocks their digital potential.”

Customers in Milton Keynes will be able to pre-register for the service from today at https://www.vodafone.co.uk/broadband/ultrafast with the first live services expected towards the end of

2018.

Related topics:Milton KeynesVodafone