Vodafone to reach eight million UK residents with full-fibre broadband by spring
Vodafone expects to have rolled out its full-fibre broadband to eight million UK residents by spring next year after penning new deals with CityFibre and Openreach.
The latest work means that Vodafone can now claim to be the UK’s largest provider of fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) tech, which can power ultrafast speeds and high-quality services.
It will also help CityFibre to deliver on its own plans to reach 285 urban and rural locations across the country by the middle of the decade.
The rollout is excellent news for consumers, according to analysts, as other providers will likely be encouraged by Vodafone’s recent success and target their own broadband expansion.
Vodafone chief executive Ahmed Essam believes that its partnerships, which include a £500m deal with CityFibre, have given it the agility to scale its services at a considerably faster rate than some rivals.
This is because the telecoms company doesn’t have to rely on or invest heavily in a fixed-line network, noting that BT and Virgin Media “always sell on” their own networks.
Essam added: “A couple of years back we were new to broadband but by spring we will have the widest fibre-to-the-premises footprint in the UK.”
Reacting to the news, ISPreview editor Mark Jackson said that Vodafone could soon just be one of several providers leveraging CityFibre’s network to offer “nationwide coverage”.
This would be beneficial for consumers, according to Jackson, as they would have more options to choose from that are “faster and more affordable” compared to services in the past.