In recent months, Vodafone has seen rivals such as Orange SA and the Carphone Warehouse Plc offer its client base free broadband connections as part of a FMC (fixed-mobile convergence) package, as operators find new ways to make up for slowing growth in the saturated UK market-place.
To this end, Vodafone has signed an agreement with BT Wholesale to provide its customers in the UK with Vodafone-branded consumer fixed-line broadband services.
Orange announced in June that it was offering mobile customers who pay more than 30 pounds ($56.18) a month for their mobile tarriffs a combination of free broadband up to 8Mbps, plus a wireless modem known as Livebox which customers plug into their telephone socket. This device uses the Wireless & Talk VoIP service, allowing free evening and weekend calls to UK landlines
Speaking to Computer Business Review, Vodafone confirmed the terms of the deal were confidential and refused to reveal any more information, other than it expects to launch this new proposition before the end of the year, with a more detailed announcement expected before then. Vodafone has a UK customer base of approximately 16.2 million.
Vodafone evaluated a number of companies and felt that BT was the best to partner with, said the Vodafone spokesperson.
However, it seems that BT’s geographical reach in the UK played a large part in its winning the contract, and it was competing against the other UK providers to supply wholesale services to Vodafone.
Choosing BT as our partner enables us to provide high quality fixed-line broadband services to customers quickly and cost-efficiently right across the UK, and this perfectly complements our national mobile coverage and mobile broadband service, said Nick Read, chief executive of Vodafone UK, in a statement.
We were beaten on price because we refuse to write bad deals, said a spokesperson from Cable & Wireless Plc, speaking to Computer Business Review.
Vodafone wanted a pan UK network, and BT was the natural choice, a BT spokesperson responded.
Meanwhile, Vodafone’s existing agreement with network operator Viatel Holding (Bermuda) Ltd will remain intact. Vodafone confirmed that Viatel provides data services for its enterprise clients, and the deal with BT, which is more consumer-focused, will not impact this agreement.
We provide business to business services, said Sue Davidson, senior VP of sales and marketing at Viatel, adding that she expects the relationship to continue for a long while yet with Vodafone.
