British pure fibre infrastructure provider CityFibre is reportedly aiming to renegotiate its existing wholesale agreement with Vodafone UK. According to ISPreview, which cites The Telegraph, the current contract between the two companies – announced in November 2017 – is understood to include a provision that affords exclusivity for Vodafone with regards to the first phase of CityFibre network rollout targeting around one million premises. Now, however, in a changing market and with some of the nation’s other larger ISPs said to be on the hunt for partnerships with full fibre network providers, CityFibre hopes to secure a revised deal with Vodafone. The report suggests that any new deal could see infrastructure provider offering better commercial terms, such as cheaper wholesale products or limited access to better speeds, in return for it being allowed to sign up additional partners.
With the discussions said to be at an advanced stage, it has also been noted that any revised deal between the pair could form a crucial part of CityFibre’s plans to acquire TalkTalk’s fibre network unit, FibreNation. That proposed deal – valued at around GBP200 million (USD257 million) – has been paused for now, however, in the wake of the Labour Party’s election manifesto pledge to create a new British broadband public service through a promise of the provision of free full fibre broadband for all homes and businesses, should it win next month’s general election.