National ISP Vodafone has today announced that they are refreshing their range of fixed line home broadband packages, which among other things will see their old copper line ADSL packages being “retired” and the introduction of a minimum speed guarantee on their FTTC “fibre” services.
The new “Ultimate Speed Guarantee” means that customers who take the UK operator’s revised Superfast 1 (up to 38Mbps) or Superfast 2 (up to 76Mbps) packages, which use Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / VDSL2) technology, will benefit from a guaranteed minimum speed of 25Mbps and 55Mbps respectively (“sync speeds” to the router, not over wifi etc.). If they fail to deliver on speed, customers will be given a 15% discount (one per month until the issue is fixed), which can be claimed via the Vodafone HBB app.
A Spokesperson for Vodafone told ISPreview.co.uk:
“The best bit is, we’ve made it easy to claim – there are no clunky forms to fill in and no one to convince, if your speed is below the guarantee just open the Vodafone Broadband app and click the button if it’s below – and the discount is added. Simple as that. Even better, we’ll send a request to our triage team to look into your line and see if there is anything that we can do to fix it!
We will be the first UK provider to guarantee speeds across all of our packages.”
On top of that Vodafone has also simplified their packages and this appears to reflect a +50p to +£2 monthly price increase for some subscribers over the previously promoted options. As before, both of the packages include a wireless router (delivery is free but from 4th April 2018 it’s £9.99), unlimited usage, phone line rental, Parental Controls, six months of free F-Secure anti-virus software for up to 5 devices and an 18 month contract.
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In addition, neither of the options requires you to pay a one-off setup fee for activation, although if you happen to need a brand new line installed then that may carry a £60 one-off installation cost. The new packages will become available from 1st March 2018 and we are currently waiting to see what T&C’s apply to the new guarantee.
Superfast 1 (up to 38Mbps)
Ultimate Speed Guarantee of 25Mbps
PRICE: £21 for Voda mobile customers (£23 for non-mobile customers)Superfast 2 (up to 76Mbps)
Ultimate Speed Guarantee of 55Mbps
PRICE: £26 for Voda mobile customers (£28 for non-mobile customers)
We should point out that BT also has a “speed guarantee” on their new FTTP and G.fast based ULTRAFAST broadband packages, which states that if the speed ever falls below 100Mbps then the ISP will give the customer £20 compensation (here).
Meanwhile Vodafone has also announced that they will be “retiring” their old 17Mbps capable “Unlimited Standard Broadband” (ADSL / ADSL2+) copper line package. In practice this only means that they will no longer be selling the service to new subscribers, while existing customers should continue to be supported.
Nick Jeffery, Vodafone UK CEO, said:
“Whether running a family or a small business, customers want guaranteed broadband speeds they can rely on. That’s why we are launching the ultimate speed guarantee. So whether it’s mum, dad and the kids streaming the latest blockbuster on movie night, or a small business owner videoconferencing with clients, they’ll be able to count on us.”
Separately Vodafone also informed us that “there are no current plans” to revisit the prospect of launching their own Pay TV service and that in 5 years’ time they hope to be “the UK’s leading fibre to the home [FTTH/P] service” (related to their deployment with Cityfibre). At this stage it’s a little too early to judge the viability of that, particularly given the growing competition, but Vodafone does have good form with FTTH in other countries.
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UPDATE 10:59am
We note that Vodafone has also applied this change to their FTTC based small business packages for new and upgrading broadband customers only (note: the prices for these exclude VAT below):
• Essentials Superfast Broadband 1 (up to 38Mbps) guarantees a minimum speed of 25Mbps and costs from £17.50/month
• Essentials Superfast Broadband 2 (up to 76Mbps) guarantees a minimum broadband speed of 55Mbps and costs from £21.67/month
• Premium Superfast Broadband 1 (up to 38Mbps) guarantees a minimum broadband speed of 25Mbps and costs from £30.66/month
• Premium Superfast Broadband 2 (up to 76Mbps) guarantees a minimum broadband speed of 55Mbps and costs from £35.65/month
From 1st March 2018 until 3rd April 2018, there is no router delivery fee on the above business tiers, from 4th April 2018, a £9.99 delivery fee applies. A connection fee of £50 (exc. VAT) may also apply if the customer doesn’t currently have an Openreach line.
UPDATE 11:52am
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One of our readers asked what happens if a new line is estimated to deliver below the minimum of 25Mbps. We were told this: “If a customer’s speed is below the 25Mbps threshold we will still accept the order, but we won’t apply the discount automatically – this is because the speeds from Openreach are estimates. As soon as the customer is up and running (and out of their 10 day stabilisation period), assuming their speed is below the 25Mbps threshold, they will be able to claim the discount via the Vodafone Home Broadband app.”
So in this case having a sub-25Mbps FTTC line might save you a little bit of money.
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