Press Release | 01 Nov 2017

Vodafone UK banishes data use fears and reinvents Pay as you go

With Vodafone Passes, enjoy your favourite apps without worrying about using up your monthly data. And with Pay as you go 1, never pay more than £1 a day.

We want to help our customers enjoy the benefits of the digital world in a way that suits them. This means providing a network they can rely on, as well as help and support delivered by our expert staff, how and when they want it. It also means offering plans that are targeted to their individual needs.

Having launched VOXI, the UK’s first dedicated youth mobile offering, Vodafone is launching industry-leading plans that are tailored to our customers’ individual needs:

  • “Vodafone Passes” for Pay monthly customers wanting to enjoy endless[i] use of their favourite apps, without using up their monthly data allowance. There’s a Music, Video, Social or Chat Pass to choose from, plus a fifth, the Combo Pass, which includes all four Passes in one.
  • “Pay as you go 1”, a totally new approach to Pay as you go enabling customers to make standard calls, text[ii] or go online without spending more than £1 a day – a UK mobile industry first
  • Improved insurance plans for Pay monthly customers – Vodafone is the first telco in Europe to offer customers purchasing iPhones the option of including AppleCare Services with their insurance.

Nick Jeffery, Vodafone UK CEO, said: “We want our customers to be able to use their phones exactly as they want to. With Vodafone Passes, they can keep in touch, keep tuned in and keep watching without having to keep an eye on their data meter.

“With Pay as you go 1, we’re ripping up the existing Pay as you go rulebook, so that customers can use their phones knowing they won’t pay for what they don’t need, and they’ll never pay more than £1 a day.”

Endless access to more apps than any other UK network with Vodafone Passes[iii]

We know many customers want to enjoy their favourite apps without worrying about the cost of using more data than their plan allows.

To address this worry, we’re introducing Vodafone Passes[iv] – five new ways to buy data, available now. Building on our Red Extra and Red Entertainment plans[v], these Passes enable our customers to enjoy a selection of their favourite apps without running down their monthly data allowance.[vi] With Chat, Social, Music and Video Passes, as well as the Combo Pass – which includes all four Passes in one – there’s plenty to choose from.

Here’s what you’ll get with each Pass:

  • Chat Pass (£3/month) – Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber
  • Social Pass (£5/month) – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter
  • Music Pass (£5/month) – Spotify, TIDAL, Deezer, Napster, SoundCloud, Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Music
  • Video Pass (£7/month) – Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, DisneyLife, Vevo, My5, YouTube, UKTV Play and TVPlayer, which includes channels like HISTORY, Lifetime, MTV & Comedy Central
  • Combo Pass (£15/month) – all four Passes in one

We expect to announce more apps in the coming weeks, so for updates please visit our Media Centre or follow us on Twitter: @VodafoneUKNews.

Limit your spend, not your usage with Pay as you go 1

Some Pay as you go customers only use their phone from time to time, and they only want to pay each time they use it. They want to limit their spending, and on the days that they do use their phone, they want to be able to talk and text as much as they want without worrying about running out of credit.

Our Pay as you go 1 plan is tailored to suit their needs. Launching 10 November, with Pay as you go 1 you simply pay for whatever you use up to £1, and after that it’s free unlimited minutes and texts, as well as 500MB of data[vii] to use for the rest of the day. If you don’t use your phone that day,[viii] you won’t be charged a penny.

Before reaching your daily £1 spend limit, it’s 20p a minute for calls, 20p for texts and 20p for each 5MB of data. There are no hidden costs[ix] and no unexpected extras. With Pay as you go 1, you’ll never pay more than £1 a day.

Enjoy peace of mind with improved insurance plans

We are now giving iPhone customers the option to include AppleCare Services[x] for an additional fee – the first telco in Europe to bundle this service with mobile phone insurance. Existing customers can opt for this new product as well, at the same price.

To ensure our customers no longer have to worry about the cost and hassle if they were to lose or damage their handsets, we have also launched next day replacement[xi] across our new insurance products for all devices Vodafone offers. We have also refreshed our warranty and insurance plans, with market-leading propositions for Pay monthly customers buying Apple iPhones.

In addition, we have launched a 2-year warranty on all iPhones purchased directly from Vodafone, so that customers no longer have to worry that their warranty will run out before their contract.

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Notes to editors:
[i] Vodafone reserves the right to suspend the service if we have reason to believe it is being used for commercial purposes, fraudulently or is having an adverse impact/damaging our network in any way. Endless use of the apps included in Vodafone Passes apply only while the customer is in the UK.

[ii] Full terms and conditions will be published at this link on 10 November: http://www.vodafone.co.uk/terms-and-conditions/consumer/mobile/pay-as-you-go/pay-as-you-go-1-terms/index.htm

[iii] As of 24/10/17 compared with major competitors (EE, O2 and Three). For full verification please scroll to the bottom of this page: https://www.vodafone.co.uk/pass

[iv] Vodafone Passes are available to Pay monthly consumers on Red or Mobile Broadband plans purchased on or after 12/04/17. Passes include selected apps or websites in the UK and in our Roam-free destinations. There is a 5GB limit/month per pass in Roam-free destinations. For a full list of terms please see https://www.vodafone.co.uk/pass

[v] Red Entertainment includes a subscription of up to 24 months to Spotify Premium, Sky Sports Mobile TV or a NOW TV Entertainment Pass.

[vi] Data usage not included within Vodafone Passes and beyond a customer’s monthly inclusive allowance is charged at our out of bundle rates. Access to Vodafone Passes will remain available. Customers receive notifications prior to the end of their inclusive data allowance and once the allowance has been exhausted.

[vii] In the unlikely event that you reach your daily limit, automatic data capping will kick in and you won’t use up any more credit. If you want to use more, it’s £1 to get another 500MB to use until midnight that day.

[viii] Pay as you go customers who don’t use or top up their phone for 270 days will be disconnected and will lose their credit as per Vodafone’s standard Pay as you go terms. The minimum top up amount is £5.

[ix] Every time you try to dial a number that’s not included in your plan – such as a premium number or long-haul call – we’ll let you know. This means you can choose whether to go ahead.

[x] AppleCare benefits include the following items. For more details, please see https://www.vodafone.co.uk/explore/benefits/vodafone-insurance/

  • Reduced excess for screen-only damage claims if the iPhone is taken to an Apple store or Apple Authorised Service Provider – customers pay £25 instead of £79 for other damage, loss or theft claims
  • Free tech support via telephone for 2 years – without AppleCare Services, free telephone support is limited to 90 days from the time a customer buys an iPhone

[xi] The terms referenced on the Vodafone website (https://www.vodafone.co.uk/explore/benefits/vodafone-insurance/index.htm) include:

*Replacement devices can only be sent to a UK address. Next day delivery excludes UK bank holidays, and two-day delivery applies in the following areas: AB31- AB56; FK17 – FK21; HS1-HS9; IV; PA20-PA78; and PH15-PH18.

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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