Vodafone to Invest Heavily in U.K. Businesses for Network Upgrade

VodafoneThree – Britain’s biggest mobile phone network formed by the merger of Vodafone Group Public Limited Company’s VOD U.K. business with Three UK – has undertaken an ambitious project to help modernize and upgrade the regional network infrastructure. As part of a £11 billion investment plan over the next 10 years, the company has inked a deal worth more than £2 billion with Nokia Corporation NOK and Ericsson ERIC for the supply of network technology across the United Kingdom.

Per the deal, Ericsson will deploy its indigenous technology and related services at more than 10,000 sites to modernize VodafoneThree’s existing 4G and 5G infrastructure. This is likely to help VodafoneThree deploy 5G connectivity across the country by 2034. Nokia will supply its network technology to around 7,000 sites to accelerate the region’s digitalization initiative.

VOD Focusing on Improving Network Efficiency

Vodafone had earlier partnered with Nokia to run a commercial 5G Open RAN pilot study in Italy. This offered a platform for more independent software providers, start-ups and local firms to collaborate for innovation. By unlocking network efficiencies with common operability, software delivery and increased hardware sharing, Nokia has reduced the total cost of ownership for mobile operators. The company is well-positioned for the ongoing technology cycle, given the strength of its end-to-end portfolio. 

Vodafone is striving hard to improve network efficiency to meet the exponential growth in data traffic. The company has joined forces with Meta Platforms Inc. META to optimize the delivery of short-form videos and ensure efficient utilization of existing network infrastructure. Meta has made improvements to its video engineering and infrastructure deployment systems for more efficient video delivery. Vodafone has successfully freed up network capacity at key 4G and 5G sites in high-traffic areas like shopping centers and transport hubs. Implementing these optimizations across Vodafone has boosted network efficiency in the European markets without compromising the viewing experience.

Moving Forward

The significant investment in digital infrastructure upgrades is expected to boost the regional economy by creating about 13,000 roles across engineering, construction and maintenance of telecom towers, fiber optics and base stations. Approximately three-quarters of these jobs are located outside London and the South East, fueling the growth of supplementary industries. Serving around 29 million customers, VodafoneThree is aiming to strengthen its regional footprint to better serve the customers with state-of-the-art infrastructure. It remains to be seen how this communication service provider fulfills its strategic objective.

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