The deal will see Vodafone offer high-speed fixed-line broadband and IPTV services across Germany using the DT network under a bit stream arrangement (rather than any sort of unbundling). Initially Vodafone will tap DT's VDSL network to offer its 34 million German customers speeds of up to 50Mbit/s. That top end will rise to 100 Mbit/s as and when DT rolls out its DSL vectoring technology.

In the longer term the companies have also agreed that Vodafone will have access to a DT Ethernet-based bit-stream product by 2016, which should enable Vodafone to ramp up to even faster speeds and give it more control over service design and delivery to ensure it can differentiate its services to both consumers and its enterprise customers.

Vodafone says this agreement is part of its European network master plan to offer unified, fixed/mobile comms services across the continent. It has already thrown in its lot with Orange in Spain to share a fibre to the home (FTTH) network build there. In the UK it acquired Cable & Wireless Worldwide in July last year.

Now that Vodafone's balance sheet looks healthier with the long-awaited arrival of US$3.15 billion in dividends from its investment in Verizon's mobile network, it could be that the company keeps up the fixed network deal-flow for the next year or so.