Vodafone joins UK broadband party

Vodafone At Home will use BT's infrastructure to cover the majority of the UK

Vodafone is partnering with BT to launch a broadband internet service for its mobile phone users. 

The Vodafone At Home service, which is expected to debut on 8 January, will use BT's infrastructure to cover the majority of the UK.

Vodafone's offering will be at the top end of the price range, costing £25 for an 8MB connection.

This compares to so-called 'free' bundled deals from Orange or Sky for users paying a set monthly fee for other services. 

Vodafone's package is also £5 more expensive than the rival broadband service from TalkTalk, which costs £19.99 a month. 

However, the Vodafone deal will include BT line rental, unlimited free calls to any UK landline and 24-hour technical support.

Users must sign up for 18 months, and adding a wireless modem to the package costs an extra £25.

Vodafone expects to offer BT Vision television packages over broadband later in the year, including a mix of Freeview channels and paid-for on-demand content.