Vodafone launches business UFB plans

Vodafone - a late-comer to the UFB party - has this afternoon launched a new series of business plans, including options with UFB fibre.

An Ultra Fast Small Office plan costs $119 a month, installation and modem included, one landline (extra lines cost $15 each), 30/10Mbit/s speed and a 50GB data cap.

For an extra $20 a month, you get a 100GB data cap and 100Mbit/s (full UFB speed) downloads and 50Mbit/s uploads.

A spokeswoman told NBR residential UFB plans are "imminent."

Vodafone has been trialling residential UFB, but is the only major ISP to so far not launch a plan.

Telecom, Vodafone competition seen jump-starting UFB
In an interview with NBR last month, Chorus boss Mark Ratcliffe told NBR that UFB adoption would accelerate once Vodafone entered the market.

So far, only around 10,000 of 300,000 within reach of fibre have taken a UFB plan.

"We’d all like it [UFB uptake" to be faster," the CEO said. 

"I suspect we’ll see the competitive dynamic changing a bit when Vodafone’s in the market. When you’ve got the big two retailers going head-to-head, competition drives greater demand.

"When you’ve got two big guys going hard at it, that will see faster uptake."

Telecom holds around 50% ISP market share, and Vodafone (now including Telstraclear) has 29%, according to Commerce Commission figures. CallPlus/Slingshot is close to 10%, but others are half that or less.

For it's part, a surly Vodafone submission on the government's Telecommunications Act review, said "corporate welfare" was being ladled onto Chorus in the form of a "copper tax by stealth."

The government argues cutting the price of copper broadband would make fibre less attractive.

Vodafone says instead of the government over-ruling the Commerce Commission to prop up the price of copper broadband (or at least only institute a small cut where the regulator wanted a 25% slash), fibre should be made more attractive.

It argued the cheapest residential UFB plans should be twice the speed for the same price, and that ISPs be given access to "dark fibre", giving them more control over which services they offer consumers.

ckeall@nbr.co.nz

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