Vodafone UK CEO backs Equinox II pricing model

Vodafone UK’s CEO Ahmed Essam has added his voice to those in favour of Openreach’s proposed new pricing arrangement for its FTTP services, Equinox II.

The offer was initially intended to go live on 1st April 2023 but has been delayed by Ofcom following a Competition Act complaint from CityFibre, and pushback from altnets who see the model as non-competitive.

Essam said: “Equinox II seeks to offer more affordable wholesale prices for fibre over the medium term, helping broadband retailers put together more attractive packages for consumers.

“We think their proposed offer poses no threat to efficient alternative fibre providers and will play an important role in encouraging wider fibre adoption.”

He also states that Vodafone will look to use other wholesalers and widen its use of altnets in the near future.

In his statement, Essam highlights its new broadband packages for vulnerable customers but also calls on Openreach and CityFibre to offer equivalent wholesale social tariffs.

He concludes: “Ultimately, we want to build a full-fibre Gigabit UK that is fair for customers, retailers, wholesalers, and investors alike.

“To do this we must strike the right balance between the incentive to invest and the need to offer competitively priced products and services for all our customers, including those on benefits.”