Vodafone launches broadband deal

Vodafone has become the latest phone group to enter the UK broadband market.

Its £25 per month ‘Vodafone At Home’ deal offers up to 8Mb unlimited broadband and inclusive landline calls at anytime to any UK landline, as well as 25% off calls to UK mobiles against standard BT rates. Line rental is included in the monthly price. Vodafone At Home is available for installation from mid-January 2007, and has a minimum 18-month contract. Only customers with a Vodafone mobile contract are eligible for the deal.

Karen Darby, of price comparison specialist SimplySwitch.com comments: “Vodafone at Home isn’t the cheapest deal on the market but it does provide an attractive package. Customers who aren’t currently with Vodafone mobile might find it a step too far to change mobile providers as well as signing up to an 18 month broadband deal… a long time considering how rapidly the broadband market is evolving. However, this deal is aimed at Vodafone’s existing customers, and with a claimed 16 million in the UK, levels of take-up could be high.

“At £19.99 per month for a similar package, TalkTalk remains one of the UK’s cheapest providers. However, TalkTalk still suffers from long waiting times and those well-documented customer service issues. Therefore, Vodafone, with its UK call centre and free technical support, has every opportunity to win on this front as long as it doesn’t fall into the same ‘over-subscription’ trap. Also, unlike TalkTalk, Vodafone rents its lines from BT, so a full-speed, high quality connection should be available in 97% of households. The £19.99 TalkTalk deal is available in just 70% of the UK.

“Right now, the UK telecoms and broadband markets have never been more competitive. While the Vodafone package offers good value, we expect rival providers to match TalkTalk’s inclusive ‘£19.99 per month’ deal within the next few months. If such deals become available without the extra hassle of changing mobile providers, they could prove more attractive than Vodafone at Home, both in terms of price and the convenience of switching.”