Vodafone UK Removing £60 New Broadband Line Install Fee

Mobile operator and ISP Vodafone UK informs us that customers taking one of their FTTC based “superfast home broadband” packages, specifically those who will need a brand new copper line installed, won’t have to pay the usual £60 one-off installation charge if they order before the end of April 2020.

Most ISP switches these days are direct migrations and so this one-off charge isn’t usually relevant on Openreach’s (BT) platform, but some people do still need to get a new line provision (e.g. when moving into a newly purchased house) and that’s when the £60 fee is usually applied.

In an unusual move the operator informed us yesterday evening that they intended to “remove the £60 upfront new line installation fee until the end of April,” although a quick check of the small print underneath ‘Our legal terms‘ on their website this morning shows that it still exists (we expect they’ll change this shortly).

One catch to be aware of here is that some new line installs may require an engineer visit, which is obviously something that Openreach have had to restrict due to COVID-19 (here). As such it’s possible that there could be a significant delay to the installation of a new line, although exceptions are often made if you have no other alternative means of broadband, are considered a vulnerable person or a member of the NHS etc.