Vodafone’s fastest-ever Gigafast broadband launches in Edinburgh
Residents and businesses in Balerno, Restalrig and Liberton can get speeds of up to 900Mbit/sec starting from today
Vodafone is ploughing ahead with the rollout of its Gigafast Broadband as the service goes live in parts of Edinburgh.
Residents and businesses in Balerno, Restalrig and Liberton can get speeds of up to 900Mbit/sec starting from today and the fibre service is set to go live across the rest of the city and its surrounding areas, in stages, over the coming months.
As has been the case in the cities which already have access to the service, the rollout is part of Vodafone’s long-standing deal with CityFibre.
It coincides with a new Vodafone campaign designed to encourage people to switch to the ISP ahead of changes being introduced by communications regulation Ofcom. In December, Ofcom revealed plans to simplify the process of switching providers if they use a different broadband network.
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Under current processes, customers can relatively easily switch between providers that use Openreach’s copper network, including BT, Sky and TalkTalk and the new provider handles all the admin.
However, if a customer wants to move from a different network – CityFibre, Gigaclear, Hyperoptic or Virgin Media – the customers themselves have to manage both the cancelling of the original contract and the start of the new contract, co-ordinating dates and times to make sure there isn’t a gap.
Ofcom claims 40% of customers are put off by switching, as a result, so they’re left paying for services they might not want. Its new plans include simplifying the whole process, regardless of which network they’re switching from and to. Providers will also have to compensate customers if things go wrong and they are left without a service for more than one working day.
To get a jump on this, Vodafone is offering to switch customers to its network and is selling its Superfast 1 broadband service for £21.95 per month (down from £23.95), on an 18 month contract.
The faster Superfast 2 service is £23.95 per month (down from £29.95) for the same contract length. Superfast 1 offers download speeds of 40Mbits/sec, while Superfast 2 is 80 Mbits/sec.
What is Vodafone Gigafast broadband?
Vodafone claims its premium, Full-fibre broadband service delivers download speeds 20 times faster than the average UK and upload speeds 150 times faster, with the capacity to handle speeds of up to 900Mbit/sec.
Under the existing CityFibre agreement, Vodafone Gigafast Broadband is initially rolling out to these 12 towns and cities:
- Aberdeen
- Bournemouth
- Cambridge
- Coventry
- Edinburgh
- Huddersfield
- Leeds
- Milton Keynes
- Northampton
- Peterborough
- Southend-on-Sea
- Stirling
These locations will be joined later this year by Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool via the Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network that Openreach is building.
In addition to full fibre, Vodafone has already introduced 5G in Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool as part of its wider nationwide roll-out programme of the new mobile technology. Together, full fibre and 5G form the foundation on which local and central government plan to create digital super towns across the UK.
What do you get wih Vodafone’s Gigafast broadband?
In addition to the promised 900 Mbps speeds, Gigafast 900 packages include unlimited usage, a six-month trial of F-Secure SAFE, a free Apple TV 4K box with a year’s subscription of Apple TV Plus, and unlimited calls for £56 per month.
The contracts come with a minimum term of 18 months and Vodafone promises not to raise prices during the contract. The £56 per month includes phone and broadband line rental and a Vodafone broadband router.
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You can alternatively get Gigafast services without Apple TV 4K and a Apple TV Plus subscription for £48 a month.
Despite Vodafone claiming on its services page that there is no upfront cost to getting Gigafast Broadband, the small print does explain that if a new fibre line is required to your property. The installation may come at a cost. To find out if an installation fee will apply to your property, you can use Vodafone’s Servicer Checker.