1. Digital infrastructure and connectivity
Milton Keynes is home to one of the UK’s leading tech industry clusters - employing around 45,000 people.¹ So it’s no surprise that you’ll find equally impressive digital infrastructure and connectivity.
The city enjoys 99.4% superfast (over 30 Mbps) and fibre broadband, and around 93% access to Gigabit fibre (speeds in excess of 1Gbps). A range of broadband options are available from multiple internet service providers (ISPs).² Milton Keynes is also among the first UK cities to benefit from EE's 5G Standalone (5G SA) network.³ All of which means fast, reliable data connections for businesses and their employees - to the office and to home.
2. ‘Better by Design’ - an efficient transport system
As a ‘new city’, Milton Keynes was designed from the start to have an efficient transport system. The city’s planned, grid road network (unique in the UK) enables smoother traffic flow, reduced congestion, and faster journey times. For businesses and their employees, this means improved productivity and less-stressful commutes.
3. UK road connectivity
Milton Keynes’ visionary planners also chose the most advantageous geographical location. In comparison with other regional tech hubs, including Oxford, Milton Keynes’ direct access to the M1 motorway enables faster drive times to key UK destinations. These include: Cambridge (1.05 hours), Birmingham (1.10 hours), central London (1.20 hours), and Manchester (2.30 hours).⁴
4. Airport and international connectivity
Milton Keynes enjoys superb access to a range of airports in the South East and the Midlands, providing businesses and residents with comprehensive international air connectivity. London Luton Airport is literally just down the road - 30 minutes away via the M1. Birmingham Airport is accessible in less than 1 hour, and London Heathrow - the UK’s hub airport - in less than 1.30 hours.⁴
5. Rail connectivity
Milton Keynes’ inspired designers prioritised rail just as much as road connectivity - providing businesses and residents with flexible, sustainable transport options. Most impressively, central London can be accessed in just 32 minutes from Milton Keynes Central station. Other cities easily accessible by rail include Birmingham - in less than 1 hour - and Manchester - in less than 1.45 hours.⁴
6. Smart City infrastructure
Milton Keynes is at the forefront of Smart City developments in the UK, delivering a range of benefits for business and residents, both now and into the future. The city’s robust 5G network and advanced infrastructure enable real-time data collection and communications, facilitating improved services including efficient public transport and transport system management. As well as enabling business operations and productivity, Milton Keynes’ Smart City infrastructure provides a unique R&D testbed for the city’s tech companies.⁵
7. Healthy, sustainable ‘active travel’
‘Active travel’ is yet another area in which Milton Keynes has always been ahead of other places in the UK. The city’s unique Redways are purpose-built, dedicated routes for walking and cycling, segregated from road traffic for safety, comfort and efficiency. As well as being a central feature of this green city’s unique quality of life offer, the Redways enable residents to enjoy healthy, sustainable, stress-free and cost-effective commutes.
8. Access to knowledge industry hubs and clusters
For businesses and residents seeking direct access to the UK’s knowledge and tech industry clusters, there’s no better location than Milton Keynes. By rail, central London’s finance and technology hubs are accessible in just over half an hour. The city is at the heart of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor, and optimally located within the London-Oxford-Cambridge ‘Research Golden Triangle’. As the home of Red Bull Racing (Formula 1), Milton Keynes is also a key hub within Central England’s world-leading high-performance engineering cluster - sometimes referred to as ‘Motorsport Valley’ - with the Silverstone cluster just 30 minutes away.⁴
9. The UK logistics hub of choice
With such an advantageous location and multimodal transport connections, it should come as no surprise that Milton Keynes has developed into one of the UK’s leading logistics and distribution hubs.
The city’s direct M1 access provides businesses with fast road connectivity to the high-value South East market, as well as conurbations across the UK. For exporters and importers, London Heathrow and East Midlands airports (the UK’s no.1 and no.2 air freight hubs) can both be reached in around an hour. And companies seeking sustainable, flexible freight solutions can reach Midlands rail freight terminals (including DIRFT, Daventry) in less than 45 minutes.⁴
10. East West Rail - Unlocking Regional Growth potential
Milton Keynes is perfectly positioned at the centre of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor, which has the potential to become one of the world’s leading science and technology superclusters. Improved transport connectivity across the Corridor will be key to unlocking this potential, and East West Rail will be a vital catalyst.
From 2026, the first phase of East West Rail will cut rail journey times between Oxford and Milton Keynes to just 45 minutes - enabling tech industry growth and productivity, and further enhancing Milton Keynes’ connectivity credentials for tech businesses and city residents.⁶
Contact the Invest Milton Keynes team to talk about growing your business in Milton Keynes.
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(1) Whitecap Consulting, 2022; (2) Fair Internet Report; (3) Milton Keynes CC; (4) Google Maps, 2025; (5) mksmart.org (6) eastwestrail.co.uk