CityFibre completes full fibre broadband rollout in Milton Keynes after four years of digging up streets

The infrastucture has been laid in nearly every street in the borough, providing 90,000 homes with access to CityFibre’s Full Fibre network.

This is around 90% of the homes in Milton Keynes.

The network also serves businesses and key public sector and community, as well as supporting an innovative 5G testbed.

CityFibre says the flagship project will bring more than £560m in productivity gains and £123m from a widened workforce over next 15 years.

Construction began in March 2018 and since then CityFibre has laid almost 1,000km of dense Full Fibre infrastructure.

With this primary-build now completed, the company will explore opportunities to “densify and infill” the last remaining areas.

The new network marks CityFibre’s first completed project in England and makes it the largest supplier of Full Fibre in the city.

Milton Keynes was the first location announced to benefit from CityFibre and Vodafone’s strategic partnership in 2018.

It enables residents to enjoy affordable, gigabit-capable reliable Full Fibre broadband from a range of internet service providers (ISPs) including launch partner Vodafone, TalkTalk, Zen, Fibrehop and IDNet.

The network serves MK hospital where it is used to support robotic surgery, the digital transformation of back-office functions, and providing patients with a rock-solid broadband connection.

It also supports the connectivity services of the headquarters and campus of The Open University, Stadium MK and the MKYMCA.

The network underpins the MK:5G project, led by Milton Keynes Council, that trials and seeks to illustrate the near-term technological benefits of 5G - including autonomous vehicles, drones, and robots.

CityFibre bosses say enabling 5G rollout alone could drive up to £1bn in positive economic impact.

Greg Mesch, Chief Executive Officer at CityFibre, said: “As we complete our rollout in Milton Keynes, we leave behind a city fully equipped for the data age. With the UK’s finest digital infrastructure under its streets, its citizens, businesses, and public institutions are only just beginning to tap into the huge benefits that are to come.”

You can see what CityFibre has to offer here.

Ben Everitt, MP for Milton Keynes North said: “Milton Keynes finishing its journey to become a Gigabit City is a huge moment and a fantastic achievement for all involved. With CityFibre’s project now complete, households, businesses and public sector sites across MK will be able to benefit from the best possible internet connections.

“The legacy left by this project is just beginning. The world class digital infrastructure now in place will keep Milton Keynes at the cutting edge of technological change and underpin our growth and success for generations.”

Iain Stewart, MP for Milton Keynes South, added: "It is excellent news that CityFibre has completed its rollout of the Fibre-to-the-Premises programme, reaching 90,000 premises across Milton Keynes.

Councillor Pete Marland, Leader of Milton Keynes Council, said: “Milton Keynes is a pioneering and constantly-evolving city that needs to remain at the forefront of technological development to remain an attractive place to live, work and do business. We welcome CityFibre’s completed rollout which provides countless benefits for our residents and businesses; people will be able to learn and work anywhere, and it will completely transform the way the council delivers its services.”