Vodafone, now more accurately called VodafoneThree following its £15 billion merger with Three, says it will connect its 27 million customers wherever they are in the UK, and “by this time next year” will use a beta-trial of satellite coverage provided by AST SpaceMobile.
“A new era of connectivity has begun,” said Max Taylor, CEO, VodafoneThree. “We will connect every nation, every community, in every corner of the UK. We will build the UK’s best 5G network with an unprecedented £11 billion privately-funded infrastructure project, laying the digital foundation for our country’s growth ambitions. Benefits for our 27 million mobile customers will start within months, with access to roam across both networks at no extra cost. From big cities to small towns, and everywhere in between, our mission is to build the UK’s best network.”
VodafoneThree says its network investment will deliver jobs in every region of the UK. The deployment of 5G SA will require significant investment in network infrastructure, leading to thousands more jobs in engineering, construction, and maintenance of telecom towers, fiber optics, and base stations. Over the entire eight-year build period, VodafoneThree estimates it will create and sustain demand for 9,000 jobs, with peak investment years (years 2-6) seeing as many as 13,000 jobs created across the UK.
VodafoneThree also has a partnership agreement in place with AST and which extends to its European operations. The venture will aim to provide 100 per cent geographic coverage in every part of Europe, distributing AST SpaceMobile’s satellite services to European mobile network operators.
Menawhile, VodafoneThree is set to challenge the broadband market by aiming to cover all homes with fibre or fibre-like speeds (blending Vodafone’s full fibre footprint and Three’s Fixed Wireless Access), starting with a new partnership with Community Fiber on top of existing partnerships with CityFiber and Openreach.
Two additional customer care centers have also been announced — in Belfast and Sheffield — bringing 400 jobs back to the UK, with no planned retail redundancies.
