The operator said it will reach 99.5% of the UK's population with 5G SA by 2034
Radio spectrum upgrades are starting already in Brixham, Devon
Regulator Ofcom will need to monitor its upgrade path closely, an analyst said
The newly created and biggest mobile network operator in Britian – VodafoneThree – is now revealing how it plans to start spending the $14.96 billion (£11 billion) infrastructure investment it agreed to make in order to get their $20.28 billion (£15 billion) mega-merger approved after nearly two years.
The operator has previously revealed that it will spend the £11 billion over the next 10 years to create one of the most advanced 5G networks in Europe. It plans to invest $1.76 billion (£1.3 billion) in capex on its network during its first year.
VodafoneThree has now said that it is the only mobile network operator in the UK with a fully funded, regulated and guaranteed network build plan. This will involve “reaching 99.95% [of the] population [with 5G Standalone] coverage by 2034 and at its peak creating approximately 13,000 jobs,” the mobile network operator claimed.
“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 £11bn privately-funded infrastructure project, laying the digital foundation for our country’s growth ambitions,” said VodafoneThree’s newly appointed CEO Max Taylor in a statement.
VodafoneThree expansion plans
To that end, the new venture has already announced a feasibility study on a new undersea cable that would connect the remote Shetland Islands to mainland Scotland, which VodafoneThree claims would “transform connectivity” on the Caledonian outcrops.
Down the other end of the country in Brixham, Devon, VodafoneThree said it has delivered a “30% uplift in network capacity” thanks to new radio spectrum. The update at England’s largest fishing port is just the beginning of its investment in the UK, the operator said.
Despite these early moves, however, the UK’s regulators, such as Ofcom, will need to watch the VodafoneThree investment plans intently. “Ofcom now faces a new and untested challenge in monitoring that remedy,” Matthew Howett, CEO of Assembly Research, said on LinkedIn. “The regulator's monitoring must be close and timely to ensure investment and pricing obligations are met, and to protect against the kind of risks some stakeholders warned about.”
We’ll be watching how VodafoneThree’s investment plans develop over time.