Vodafone UK has confirmed plans to enter the UK consumer communications and entertainment market.
The mobile telephony provider, known to be in asset swap talks with Liberty Global, is launching Vodafone Connect, which will provide broadband and home phone services to customers across the UK later in the summer.
More than 400 jobs are being created in the South East of England and Glasgow.
Jeroen Hoencamp, CEO of Vodafone UK said: “This is a really exciting move for Vodafone in the UK as we move our business into a new phase. We’re looking forward to bringing our consumer customers the benefits of our experience in providing fixed and mobile services, both here in the UK and elsewhere around the world. Our significant investment is creating hundreds of new jobs over the next couple of years. We are looking forward to the year ahead, including our move into offering TV services, as one which will prove to be a step-change in our customers’ lives. ”
Vodafone’s broadband service will run at 76 Mbps; it is currently wired into 20 million homes across the UK. The figure is expected to increase to 22 million later in the summer. Initially the service will be offered to existing customers in Manchester, Berkshire and parts of Hampshire and Surrey followed by Essex, Hertfordshire and Yorkshire in the next few weeks.
A companion mobile app allows consumer to prioritise chosen devices in their home network.
Three levels of service will be available; Ultrafast Fibre Broadband (up to 76 Mbps), Superfast Fibre Broadband (up to 38 Mbps) or Broadband ADSL (up to 17 Mbps).
