Vodafone is considering buying telecoms networks in Italy and Spain to allow it to supply fixed-line broadband Internet to its mobile customers.
Vodafone is looking at networks owned by Tele2, and analysts estimate those assets in Italy and Spain would be worth between €400 million and €500 million.
As part of a drive to expand its broadband services, Vodafone agreed last year with Italy's Fastweb to jointly offer parts of each other's services.
Shares in Vodafone, the world's second largest mobile operator by customers, were up 0.3 per cent earlier this morning, versus 0.1 per cent rise in the FTSE 100.