Vodafone UK’s CityFibre Broadband Users Can’t Upgrade to 2Gbps+

Customers of Vodafone’s fixed home broadband packages, specifically those on their 910Mbps (1Gbps) or slower Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) packages with major UK altnet CityFibre, have complained that the ISP is preventing them from taking out the provider’s fastest 2.2Gbps package due to the lack of an upgrade process.

“I have one of their (CityFibre) ONT’s which has a max speed of 1Gb. And as such I can’t upgrade to their 2.2Gb package! I’m told that there is no way of getting my ONT upgraded so I can request a package upgrade to 2.2,” said one of Vodafone’s customers to ISPreview last week.

Just for some context. The Optical Network Terminal (ONT / ONU) or optical modem device is usually installed inside your home or office, near to where the fibre optic cable physically enters your property, and its primary job is simply to take the optical signal and convert it into an electrical one that can be connected to your broadband router via a Local Area Network (Ethernet) port.

The standard ONT on CityFibre is a very small single port device, and most subscribers on that network will currently have their older 1Gbps (GPON compatible) units. But customers that were added over the past year or so are more likely to have had a faster multi-gigabit capable XGS-PON compatible ONT installed, which can cope with faster speeds than 1Gbps.

CityFibre told ISPreview that they do in fact offer an upgrade process to ISPs, although it appears as if Vodafone has yet to fully implement it.

A spokesperson for CityFibre told ISPreview:

“Yes we do. Our 10Gb XGS-PON network is designed to be future proof, enabling our ISP partners to upgrade their customers to faster speeds and even better services. There are times when an engineer visit is needed, such as if the customer is upgrading to a speed that needs an ONT swap and we’ll take the opportunity to ensure any new ONT meets our 10Gb XGS-PON standard, meaning the premise is ready for the market-leading, Multi-Gig speeds available across CityFibre’s network for years to come.”

Vodafone confirmed to ISPreview that, at present, there’s no direct process for customers on 910Mbps or slower packages with the older ONT to upgrade to their fastest package.

A Vodafone spokesperson said:

“For some Vodafone customers on CityFibre, upgrading to our 2Gbps+ packages requires a different Optical Network Terminal (ONT) in the home, as their existing ONT only supports lower speeds. We’re currently working with CityFibre so those ONTs can be swapped and customers can move up to higher speed tiers.

Until that process is live, a small number of existing customers may be advised that they’re not yet able to upgrade, even where the higher speed service is available on the network.”

We did ask Vodafone whether they could be more specific about the timetable for implementing a proper upgrade process, although for now they could only tell us that they’re “working at pace” to have it ready for some time in “2026“.