The Merger – Frequently asked questions
About the merger
To invest £11 billion into building you our best-ever network, dramatically improving coverage, speed and reliability nationwide.
This is a joint venture - we're bringing our businesses and brands together to build a network the UK can be proud of.
No. Vodafone, Three, VOXI, SMARTY and Talkmobile will all continue to operate independently. Existing contracts, plans, pricing and customer support remain unchanged.
Millions of customers of Vodafone UK and Three UK will enjoy a better network experience with greater coverage, quality and reliability:
Starting from mid-June this year, 7 million Three UK customers will benefit from an improvement in their 4G data speed by up to 20%.
Within a few months – Vodafone and Three customers will start to automatically use each other’s networks – connecting them to the best coverage available.
Expanding ultrafast broadband coverage across the UK, focusing especially on homes and businesses underserved by current broadband providers, offering better speeds and more reliable connections.
Our network
We're bringing together the strengths of Vodafone and Three, backed by a record £11 billion investment, and will connect 29 million customers to better mobile, broadband and digital services across the UK.
We have a detailed timetable for upgrading the network over the next eight years – monitored and enforced by our regulator, Ofcom. We'll create one of Europe’s most 5G Standalone networks, reaching 99% of the population and benefiting millions of customers through significantly better quality, greater reliability and enhanced capacity for handling the ever-increasing demand for data we're seeing from our customers.
Short for the ‘fifth generation’ wireless mobile network, 5G is the newest version of our global mobile networking standard. The current 5G network only uses upgraded technology in existing masts and also partly relies on 4G technology. 5G Standalone is a fully upgraded network in all its component parts – from radio, to access, transport and core - that solely uses 5G technology. In doing so, it enables much higher speeds, lower latency (allowing for things to happen in real-time) and increased reliability.
In short, 5G Standalone has the potential to completely change the way we live and work.
Over the next eight years, we'll be rapidly expanding 5G Standalone coverage across the UK. Customers will experience significantly improved 5G speeds, better indoor and outdoor coverage, and lower latency (less lag, buffering and so on), with 99% 5G Standalone coverage expected by 2034.
We're rolling out our new network at pace, but some areas - like hills, underground spaces, or older buildings - may still experience limitations during early phases. Even where a location is technically "live," performance can vary depending on terrain, distance from masts, or indoor signal strength. We’re actively working to improve this every day, and soon, you’ll benefit from an even stronger, more reliable connection.
To deliver faster, more reliable service across the UK, some infrastructure upgrades are needed—including new equipment and mast upgrades. But we’re committed to designing these responsibly, using the latest energy-efficient technologies and building with a smaller environmental footprint wherever possible.
All equipment used on our network is fully compliant with UK safety regulations, which are among the most stringent in the world. Public Health England and the World Health Organization confirm that 5G poses no health risks. We work closely with local authorities and communities to build responsibly and transparently.
We're significantly expanding ultrafast broadband coverage across the UK, focusing especially on homes and businesses underserved by current broadband providers, offering better speeds and more reliable connections. By bringing together Vodafone’s largest full fibre footprint and Three’s wireless broadband we'll be able to challenge the market and improve things for customers.
There will be no impact on these ongoing plans.
Your current contracts, prices and services
We’ve committed to:
freezing a range of price plans for three years across a range of popular tariffs
continuing to offer flexible, contract free market, options which have no annual price increases
continuing to offer social tariffs available through our VOXI and SMARTY brands for mobile, and on the Vodafone brand for fixed broadband.
Your existing contract will remain unchanged and you'll still be subject to your in-contract annual price increase when applicable.
No, your current offers and deals remain unchanged.
There are no immediate changes to roaming or international services. Any future updates will be clearly communicated to customers in advance.
Nothing has changed to our plans, contracts, and social tariffs. We're committed to maintaining provision of social tariffs in both mobile and broadband markets for our vulnerable customers.
Our retail stores and customer experience
We remain committed to supporting the UK high street. We are always reviewing our operations to ensure we can best meet the needs of our customers.
There is currently no plan to change our existing store opening hours.
We’ll continue to offer best-in-class customer experience across our brands. We’ll continue to operate as separate brands for now, so there will be no immediate changes to how customers interact with us.
No, there is no plan to change our existing hours.
There are no changes to your contract. Any future changes will be clearly communicated through our usual channels.
If you have existing services with both Vodafone and Three, you can continue using them without any changes.
No, you do not need to swap your SIM or take any action.
Avoid fraud - Following Vodafone's recent merger with Three, we are aware that scammers are targeting our customers.
You do not need to make any changes to your SIM card, phone number, or personal details as a result of the merger. Anyone contacting and asking you to do so is a fraudster.
If someone contacts you by phone or social media claiming to be from Vodafone or Three, please do not share any personal details with them, including any One-Time Passcodes that we send to you via text or email. Fraudsters may be attempting to access your account.
If you receive a suspicious text, please report it by forwarding it to 7726. For a suspicious call, text the word CALL and the number to 7726.
Yes, you will still need a PAC to move your number.
No. Please continue to use Vodafone’s customer services or stores. Customer service operations remain separate at this time.
Switching processes between brands remain the same for now.
We'll continue to work with our existing charity partners to deliver our Purpose strategy. Our strategic charity partners for Vodafone UK are Good Things Foundation, NSPCC, Trussell Trust and National Parks.
"...our merger with Three is now complete."
This means that the merger between Vodafone and Three has now completed, and the newly formed joint venture, VodafoneThree is the holding company of both organisations. Find out more about VodafoneThree
"…this merger won't affect your current day-to-day service or plan."
This means that the terms and conditions of your current contract will continue.
"By bringing the two networks together, our customers will enjoy expanded coverage, faster streaming and better reliability."
Expanded coverage: Vodafone UK has an existing 4G coverage, covering 99 % of the UK population. When VodafoneThree upgrades all sites in the phased network rollout, VodafoneThree will launch 5G Standalone (5G SA) on all sites. At the end of the rollout program (in 2034), VodafoneThree will deliver 5G SA coverage equally to existing 4G coverage, resulting in offering you an expanded coverage.
Faster streaming and better reliability
Given the roll-out of 5G SA, our customers will be able to stream faster and have better network reliability. 5G SA, or as we call it, 5G Ultra, is a fully upgraded network in all its component part that solely uses 5G technology. In doing so, it enables much higher speeds, lower latency, and increased reliability.
"Through network upgrades, we’ll reach millions more customers with our 5G Ultra network, providing better-quality connectivity and faster speeds for our customers."
5G SA, or as we call it, 5G Ultra, is a fully upgraded network in all its component part that solely uses 5G technology. Given the sole use of 5G, the quality and the speed of connection will better once VodafoneThree completes its rollout by 2034, hence reaching millions of customers.
"We’ll offer superfast broadband to millions more households by combining our UK’s largest full fibre footprint with 5G broadband."
Currently, as of 2 May 2025, Vodafone is the largest full fibre provider in the UK with full fibre available to 19.8 million premises out of 32.8 million premises. Comparison below based on availability of CityFibre, Openreach, OFNL, Virgin Media as of 2 May 2025, as independently verified by thinkbroadband.com
As a result of the further roll-out of 5G broadband and the increase in our full fibre footprint to 23.5 million by April 2026, we will be able to offer superfast broadband to more households.