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Milton Keynes is the first UK city to benefit from the gigabit broadband partnership between Vodafone and CityFibre
Vodafone has commenced the rollout of its 1Gbps full fibre broadband network in the UK, by offering 50 customers in Milton Keynes the opportunity to connect.
As part of its partnership with CityFibre, Vodafone plans to bring full fibre connectivity to 1 million customers across 12 cities in the UK.
"Full fibre is vital to our digital economy and to the UK’s future as a digital leader, yet just 3 per cent of UK premises currently have access to it. That’s why we are offering Vodafone Gigafast Broadband and making it available on a mass scale, reaching a million UK homes by 2021," said Nick Jeffery, Vodafone UK’s CEO.
Milton Keynes is the first of the twelve cities to benefit from the project and the 50 families involved in the trial are the first users in the country to get Vodafone’s gigabit capable services. Full fibre, gigabit capable broadband has the potential to revolutionise the UK’s economy, with Cityfibre CEO Greg Mesch calling it "the most GDP uplifting investment" that a government could make. Responses from Vodafone’s first 50 gigabit customers have been overwhelmingly positive.
“Before we started using Vodafone Gigafast Broadband, I couldn’t work from home. There’s no reliable broadband where I live in Milton Keynes, so every time I wanted to send a video to a student, I had to drive to a relative’s house in London to use their broadband,” said Micaela Perez Amaro, a dance instructor, mother of two and one of the first Vodafone Gigafast customers.
Vodafone expects to roll out services across Milton Keynes soon, with construction gathering pace in Aberdeen, Coventry, Edinburgh, Huddersfield and Stirling. Vodafone and CityFibre have yet to name the remaining 5 cities that will benefit from the programme.
Also in the news:
CityFibre CEO: There is no role for BT in the UK’s FTTH rollout
Vodafone reveals seven 5G test cities across the UK
UK Minister: Rural communities must not be excluded from 5G rollout
