Thinking of switching

The Vodaphone fibre price is very attractive (£28 no line rental charge). The only real problem is : Is technical support any good ?

If their support is as good with their broadband as it is with their mobile network, then no, it is not good.

They seem pretty good, with UK based phone support and staff are reasonably clued up based on my pre-sales questions to their technical level 2 support. They are now giving out usernames & passwords so that you can use your own router provided you make it clear that you take full reponsibility for using your own equipment. I may take out a second FTTC line on their Business offering soon, mainly to get a static IP address and SLA where faults are fixed within 1 working day.

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Pay-monthly-products-...

Talk Talk pre-sales are good, but once they have you their customer service is dismal, so you can not go by that.
Vodafone customer service is almost as bad as Talk Talk, well their mobile phone customer service is anyway and I can not see their broadband Cs being any better. while I do not have many problems with my phone service, I will never ring them now, I go to the shop, at least they know what they are on about.

As for vodafone giving out username and passwords, it is still hit and miss by all accounts.

Saying all of that I did look at moving to Vodafone from plusnet, but the savings would be lost on the connection fee.l

Charges look like a problem

18-month agreement. Subject to credit check, acceptance & availability in your area. Vodafone Broadband app & compatible Android/iOS device required to use full functionality. No line rental charges available on new and upgrading fibre broadband products only. £18 a month line rental applies to Vodafone Unlimited Standard 17 Broadband. Payment by direct debit required. Connection charges may apply: New line provision £60 and/or fibre activation £49. Router delivery charge £6.99. Other upfront set-up costs may apply. Existing customer discount will be removed if you're no longer a Vodafone mobile customer.

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

Vodafone customer service is almost as bad as Talk Talk, well their mobile phone customer service is anyway and I can not see their broadband Cs being any better.

I think you're confusing VF's mobile support with their broadband support team. They are totally separate divisions and they have nothing to do with one another. Anyway i didn't speak to their sales team, i managed to speak to someone in their technical support team and they were pretty good. Most, if not all ISPs will give you the middle finger if you (as a non-customer) wish to directly speak with their technical team, but VF were happy for me to speak to their level 2 technical support.

Also I understand Vodafone have multiple 10gb/s bandwidth 'pipes' at exchanges they've LLU'd compared to 1gb/s pipes which the likes of Sky and TalkTalk have so exchange congestion is virtually unheard of on Vodafone VDSL2/ADSL2+, that's assuming VF have their equipment in your exchange.

Given the low number of customers on Vodafone Home Broadband I would hope the network can more than cope.

You generally find money is sucked out of your pocket when switching with fibre anyway. In the scheme of things, an extra £56 over a saving of £200 for 18 months is a small price to pay.

vodafone uses the old Bulldog network, which became Cable and Wireless, I used it on ADSL when I was with ADSL24, it was ok. Not sure what it is like now Vodafone have got hold of it.

Vodafone broadband and mobile phone CS may be separate at the moment, but how long will that last for? They will want to save money and will combine them, it will come.

The only reason I stay with vodafone for my phone is because they have the best network here, well it is when they do not move things around. I am almost out of contract with vodafone, so we will see what they have to offer mobile phone wise and may have a look at their broadband.

Plusnet was pretty good good when I phoned them before I ordered, told me all I needed to know.

As for coping, vodafone should cope, they have a very small customer user base at the moment, saying that I do not know what other providers still use their network.

Three things put me off.

Using their router, yes I know some people say they will give you the info, but it is hit and miss.
The connection fee, really over the top.
!8 month contract, too long and certainly with that high connection fee.


I have looked at Sky as well, but I will no doubt wait for a while and see what Plusnet do when the new rules come out.

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

As for coping, vodafone should cope, they have a very small customer user base at the moment, saying that I do not know what other providers still use their network.

It is often said that the Zen "own network" PoPs mostly or entirely use backhaul rented from Cable and Wireless. I have no idea whether this is true. It is likely that wholesale customer services use dedicated capacity, separate from the Vodafone retail service.