Vodafone UK records best ever quarter for new customers

November 12, 2019

Vodafone UK’s commercial and operational momentum continued in the three months ending September 2019 with the launch of its new 5G network and introduction of new unlimited data plans.

Key highlights include:

Financial:

• Nearly double the number of mobile contract customers joined in the quarter ending September 2019, compared with the previous quarter.
• Service revenue growth accelerated, when we exclude the impact of EU regulation.
• Pay As You Go (PAYG) business back in revenue growth for the first time in 10 years.
• One million customers have taken up new mobile and broadband services, including Vodafone Unlimited plans.
• Nearly 40% of new and upgrading customers are choosing Vodafone Unlimited for the first time.

Operational:

• Launched 5G in more places than anyone else, with 58 cities across the UK and the rest of Europe now live.
• VOXI and PAYG launched new 5G plans and we are the only provider to offer 5G roaming.
• Secured new reciprocal wholesale deal with Virgin Media to provide their mobile customers with new services, including 5G, and to provide Vodafone with mobile backhaul and corporate fixed connectivity.
• Agreed Shared Rural Network (SRN) scheme to make 4G available to 95% of the UK landmass by 2025.
• Vodafone full-fibre broadband roll-out programme now covers 15 UK towns and cities with new Openreach deal.
• Enhanced sales channel with AO Mobile reseller agreement and the opening of new retail stores.

Almost double the number of new contract mobile customers joined our network in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, helping us to attract over 500,000 new customers, of which 371,000 are PAYG, 106,000 are mobile contract and 61,000 are home broadband – our best ever for new subscribers.

The increase in subscribers follows the July launch of Vodafone’s new super-fast 5G network, along with the introduction of Vodafone Unlimited data plans. Vodafone now has more than one million customers using its new mobile and broadband offers, including Vodafone Unlimited data plans and Vodafone Together – which combines unlimited home broadband and unlimited mobile data in one deal.

Vodafone’s PAYG business is also performing well and is back to revenue growth for the first time in 10 years. Much of this success is due to VOXI, the youth brand from Vodafone, which achieved its best ever quarter to date with 92,000 new users.

Vodafone UK CEO Nick Jeffery said: “We are challenging the market with our new customer offerings, building the UK’s best 5G and full-fibre networks and improving customer service both online and on the high-street. We have come out of the blocks quickly in the first six months of this year and have many more great customer products and services planned for the second half of our financial year to continue to reward existing customers and attract new ones.”

Customers have been choosing to upgrade their contracts and remain loyal to Vodafone in part because of our new loyalty rewards programme, Very Me, which has had more than 12 million rewards claimed to date. We also enjoyed a successful new iPhone launch and continue to see strong uptake of our home broadband services, with a customer base of 667,000, an increase of 188,000 compared to this time last year.