Vodafone expands strategic partnership with CityFibre to become Britain’s largest full-fibre broadband provider

Vodafone's expanded deal with CityFibre aims to bring full fibre broadband to eight million homes, from Bradford to Portsmouth, by April 2022.

• Vodafone will become CityFibre’s anchor customer nationwide, demonstrating its support for wholesale infrastructure competition in the full fibre market
• The deal, on top of the existing Openreach partnership, will see Vodafone able to offer full fibre to more homes than any other broadband provider – with the target to reach more than eight million by next spring
• Deal supports major investment by CityFibre in a new national access network to link its local networks and accelerate Vodafone’s speed to market
• New partnership marked with launch of half-price offer on Vodafone’s fastest full fibre 900Mbps broadband to all homes on CityFibre network
• Vodafone Pro Broadband customers will receive a free upgrade to full fibre when it reaches their area
• Homes in Bradford, Derby, Glasgow, Leicester and Paisley are able to buy Vodafone full fibre broadband as of 11 November 2021, with homes in Nottingham, Reading, Slough and Swindon from 12 November 2021
• Homes in Barnsley, Batley/Dewsbury, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Maidenhead, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Solihull, Wolverhampton and Worthing will be ready in the coming months

Vodafone is set to become Britain’s largest full fibre broadband provider following a deal signed with CityFibre. Vodafone will offer full fibre to more homes than any other provider thanks to investing in partnerships with both Openreach and CityFibre. By spring 2022, Vodafone has a target of making its full fibre services available to more than eight million homes.

Today’s deal establishes Vodafone as CityFibre’s anchor customer, making long-term, volume commitments across CityFibre’s entire eight million home rollout as part of their £4bn investment programme. The rollout will deploy dense full fibre infrastructure in 285 cities, towns and villages across the country by 2025, and support the construction of a new national access network which will make it easier and faster for Vodafone to bring their full fibre services to market.

The deal builds on a landmark strategic partnership agreed in November 2017 in which Vodafone committed to market ultrafast consumer broadband services across a one million home CityFibre footprint in 12 cities. It marks Vodafone’s continued support for the expansion of full fibre networks across the UK and determination to encourage wholesale infrastructure competition in the market.

To mark the new partnership, Vodafone is offering a half-price deal on its fastest full fibre 900Mbps Pro package, reduced from £60 to just £30. The offer will be available to all homes reached by the CityFibre network, and Vodafone will be contacting every eligible household to let them know how much they could save.

Max Taylor, Consumer Director at Vodafone UK, said: “Consumers need competition in the broadband space, and we’re committed to delivering that. Our partnership approach allows us to bring full fibre to more homes than any other provider, ensuring families have more choice and more competitive pricing than ever before. We’re set to become Britain’s largest full fibre provider, and we’re making the fastest broadband, with a premium package of features and benefits, even more accessible than ever with this great new offer.”

Greg Mesch, Chief Executive at CityFibre, said: “Through our strategic partnership, Vodafone has made a powerful decision to back CityFibre and help establish wholesale infrastructure competition for the UK. Thanks in large part to its continued support, CityFibre has now emerged as the nation’s leading independent Full Fibre platform, with the best wholesale products, attractive economics and a network scaling rapidly across the UK. We’re delighted that Vodafone continues to have full confidence in our network and is now anchoring our entire Full Fibre rollout nationwide.”

Vodafone UK benefits from the combination of a partnership approach to expanding full fibre, and the unrivalled experience and scale brought by Vodafone Group, one of Europe’s largest broadband providers.

Vodafone Pro Broadband, launched earlier this year, gives customers unbreakable broadband at an unbeatable price. The new broadband service has a range of features such as hybrid 4G broadband back-up, Super WiFi guarantee and dedicated support from a team of highly-trained WiFi Xperts, plus a Super WiFi Plus booster with Alexa Built-in.

Between 12– 29 November, every customer who purchases a Pro Broadband package will also receive an Alexa-integrated WiFi extender at no extra cost.

Customers who pair Vodafone Pro Broadband with an EVO airtime mobile plan will be able to take advantage of a ‘Vodafone Together’ discount of £3 a month. Vodafone Together customers will also be helping to tackle digital poverty in the UK – for every new and existing Vodafone Together customer, we will provide a person in need with a SIM card loaded with 20GB of data plus free calls and texts each month for up to a year. The ‘Buy One, Give One’ initiative ensures that connectivity reaches those who need it most. The SIMs will be distributed through the Trussell Trust’s UK network of food bank centres. Vodafone has committed to connect one million people who are living in digital poverty by the end of 2022.