Marking the next phase of £11bn network investment plan, VodafoneThree has unveiled the SuperMobile network and the Vodafone TV service which will run on the “UK’s fastest” 5G+ (5G standalone) network, as well as offering a new enterprise-grade mobile connectivity portfolio anchored by the “UK’s first” national business-only 5G+ network slice.
Since beginning life as a merged company, VodafoneThree has expanded its UK 5G+ population coverage from 46% to 60% as part of a commitment to deliver 99.96% by 2034. VodafoneThree said that it was now introducing a new choice for customers, connectivity built around quality and performance, creating value in a market that has traditionally competed on price alone.
The company said its new enhanced network could improve performance for every customer while offering new capabilities not previously possible on mobile networks. The “market-changing” propositions would, it said, deliver quality, reliability, security and long-term value for consumers and businesses in every community of the country.
VodafoneThree CEO Max Taylor said: “In networks, we’ve optimised our spectrum holding across our brand portfolio, and we’ve agreed partnerships in record time to start the £11bn investment.
“After one year [from the merger], we’re on track. Speeds are up 50% year on year, we’ve eradicated 16,500km2 of not-spots, upgraded more than 2,000 sites in line with the committed plan, and it’s all translated into results. Customer experience metrics have continued to improve. If that was success in chapter one, chapter two is going to be investment. We’ve only been laying the foundations, and the race is now on.”
He warned that despite advances made in that time, customer demand had not stood still, instead growing rapidly and with customers caring about quality more than ever. VodafoneThree research revealed as many as 50% of customers would consider switching networks if the quality of service was better, and 43% of people believe where they live leaves them behind when it comes to digital connectivity.
Taylor made clear that for customers, both in business and consumer markets, data quality simply meant speed: “Download speed, upload speed, low latency – it’s all of the above. The delivery of this speed needs to be reliable, which means you need capacity.
“Customers don’t think congestion of capacity; it is much simpler than that – their perception is simply that your network is not fast enough. So, you need the coverage of fast 5G+ networks in as many places as possible. Data quality is speed. We will deliver better quality in more places than anyone else, and now it’s time to unlock the potential of this network. The UK needs to go faster today.”
Vodafone SuperMobile is said to introduce mobile experiences with up to 4x faster speeds than the standard plans, with guaranteed minimum speeds and built-in security. A dedicated 5G+ FastTrack – combining four advanced network technologies for an enhanced network experience – guarantees minimum speeds of 15mbps. VodafoneThree said this makes the company the first and only mobile network operator globally to guarantee a minimum download speed, and customers can leave without a fee if this assurance is not met.
Slices of the network pie
One of the key aspects that the new network will support is Vodafone SuperMobile for Business, described as an “enterprise-grade” mobile connectivity portfolio made up of National Business Slice, National Critical Slice and 5G+ Local Slicing.
Available immediately, National Business Slice is designed to give organisations dedicated capacity on VodafoneThree’s network, separating business traffic from consumer demand. As well as the 4x improvements in speed, the operator said businesses can benefit from committed performance targets, helping employees, applications and critical workflows stay connected and productive, including in busy locations. It also works with standard compatible business handsets.
Launching in 2027, National Critical Slice, for blue light organisations and critical public services, will provide priority connectivity and assured performance for first responders and organisations delivering mission-critical services.
VodafoneThree regards the currently available 5G+ Local Slicing as being suited to high-density environments such as entertainment venues, travel hubs and logistics sites, delivering contracted levels of performance at specific locations.
Commenting the major push into business that VodafoneThree will now make, the company’s business director Nick Gliddo said that the firm was starting from the premise that the working day has moved to mobile. Even though businesses don’t spend their day thinking about mobile networks, he added, such architectures are a fundamental part of what it enables work for them.
“When we think about business, work no longer sits neatly behind the desk,” said Gliddo. “It’s not defined by place, location or time of day. Increasingly, workflows are also being shaped by AI, both their tools and their services. So, while work has moved to mobile, the contract and the capability has never followed. We’ve changed that.
“We’re setting a new benchmark for connectivity across the UK. For the first time, we’re giving businesses access to a dedicated enterprise-grade performance layer … It’s dedicated connectivity, dedicated for business, and it’s built how modern businesses actually need to work and contract. At the heart of that is assured connectivity [and] power, nationally. We’re putting in place dedicated capacity for business in the places, moments where performance matters.”
Emphasising the national aspect of the offer, Gliddo said that a business in Cardiff should have the same connectivity capability as a business in Canary Wharf; manufacturing in Glasgow should have access to the same performance and resilience as a technology company in Manchester; and a startup in Belfast should have the ability to benefit from the same level of innovation as companies headquartered in London.
“We’re moving connectivity to confidence,” he added. “Confidence in business means you know your teams can keep working and keep operating, and that confidence on operation [means that] it keeps running when demand is at its highest. We are un-tethering businesses from ‘place’ to turn to capability. It brings national business performance commitments to business mobile.
“Customer experience is central in what we do for customers today – for our reputation, but also the customers’ output. It’s a performance product. We’ll scale availability in a way that protects the quality of our service and expands that as our network investment continues to add capacity.”
Gliddo also made reference to existing VodafoneThree business customers. These included Cadent, Centrica, British Airways, CoOp Live, Loganair, Tata Steel, UK Power Networks and Manchester Airport Group.
Contract Vodafone consumer customers will be able to access SuperMobile for £3 per month more than full-speed Vodafone Xtra plans; £8 more on SIM-only 100mbps plans; £4 more on handset 100 Mbps plans; and as a rolling monthly add-on for £12. The consumer plan will also be available to small businesses with up to nine employees, and large enterprises, with tailored packages and performance commitments to meet their needs.
Closing the launch, Taylor said that his company was raising the bar for connectivity, adding: “[VodafoneThree is] raising expectations of what UK networks should deliver, raising the quality level of what UK businesses can benefit from, or that consumers can enjoy. VodafoneThree is setting new standards for the industry. Welcome to the new era of connectivity – chapter two.”
