Press Release | 22 Jan 2020

Southend-on-Sea receives major broadband boost with full fibre service from Vodafone

Vodafone teams up with Southend United FC to mark arrival of Vodafone Gigafast Broadband

Residents and small businesses in Southend-on-Sea can now receive some of the fastest internet speeds in the UK, thanks to the arrival of Vodafone Gigafast Full-Fibre Broadband.

Unlike most home broadband services based on old telephone lines, Vodafone Gigafast Broadband uses all optical-fibre cables at every stage of the connection. This gives users download speeds of up to 900Mbps, which is 16 times faster, and upload speeds 125 times faster, than the average fixed broadband service in the UK.

Southend-on-Sea’s Eastwood area is the first to benefit from Vodafone Gigafast Broadband with additional locations in the town due to have access to the service by the end of this month. Once connected, Vodafone Gigafast Broadband allows the whole family to stream their favourite films, play online games or upload videos and photos across multiple devices with almost no time lag or buffering – all at the same time.

photo of Andrew Cole, Forward and Attack Coach for Southend United F.C., and Fiona McMahon, Vodafone’s Southend-on-Sea City Manager
Andrew Cole, Forward and Attack Coach for Southend United F.C., and Fiona McMahon, Vodafone’s Southend-on-Sea City Manager

Vodafone has also announced a new partnership with Southend United Football Club to mark the arrival of the ultra-fast broadband service. As part of this new deal, Vodafone is supporting ‘Future Blues’, a joint initiative between the football club and Southend United’s Community and Educational Trust to give children from local primary schools and sports clubs the opportunity to attend matches at Roots Hall Stadium.

Max Taylor, Vodafone UK’s Consumer Director, said: “Vodafone Gigafast Broadband will provide residents and local small businesses in Southend-on-Sea a major boost in online speeds and reliability. We are working closely with the local community, Southend United and our full fibre infrastructure partner, CityFibre, to create a real buzz around the town and to ensure Southend-on-Sea is on the map for being one of the best connected places in the UK.”

Aideen Sadler, CityFibre’s City Manager Southend, said: “We are extremely proud and excited at seeing CityFibre’s full fibre infrastructure come to life in people’s homes. This is only the beginning of Southend’s full fibre journey and we look forward to working with all of Southend’s communities to ensure more of the city enjoys the transformational benefits full fibre connectivity has to offer.”

Residents in Southend-on-Sea can find out more about the Gigafast service and pre-register, by visiting either the Vodafone store located at 148 High Street or the Gigafast website.

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Notes to editors

  • Customers can choose from three Vodafone Gigafast Broadband packages: 100, 500 or 900Mbps, with prices starting at £28 per month.
  • For more information on the Future Blues initiative, visit the Southend United FC website.
  • The Vodafone Gigafast Broadband team will be attending the following Southend United Football Club fixtures:

-15th February v. Coventry

-22nd February v. Burton Albion

-28th March v. Sunderland

-10th April v. Wycombe Wanderers

About Vodafone UK

Vodafone UK is a technology communications company that connects people, businesses and devices to help our customers benefit from digital innovation. Our services span mobile, fixed-line connections, home and office broadband, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

We have a strong track record as a tech pioneer, making the UK’s first mobile phone call, sending the first text message, and making the UK’s first live holographic call using 5G in 2018. We were the first to start carrying live 5G traffic from a site in Salford, Greater Manchester and now have 5G in locations across Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain as well as the UK. Meanwhile, our 4G network coverage currently reaches over 99% of the UK population.

Today, Vodafone serves more than 18 million mobile and fixed-line customers in the UK. Vodafone is the largest provider of full fibre in the UK – our superfast broadband services are now available to nearly 12 million homes across the UK.

Sustainability is also at the heart of what we do: as of 1 July 2021, 100% of the grid electricity we use in the UK is certified to be from renewable sources.

For more information about Vodafone UK, please visit: www.vodafone.co.uk.

Vodafone UK Media Relations

Telephone: +44 (0) 1635 693 693

Email: ukmediarelations@vodafone.com

Twitter: @VodafoneUKNews

Website: https://vodafone.co.uk/newscentre/

Vodafone Limited

Registered Office: Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2FN

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