Mobile phone operator Vodafone is to enter the British fixed-line broadband Internet market following an agreement with the wholesale arm of telecoms firm BT Group.
Vodafone, which said in May it planned to enter other telecoms markets such as broadband Internet, said it expected to launch the new Vodafone-branded service by the end of this year.
Until recently, Vodafone had prided itself on being a "pure play" mobile operation, unencumbered by a declining fixed-line business.
But as fixed and mobile businesses move to cheaper, combined services, the firm has had to change tack.
In May, Vodafone said it was aiming to get up to 10 per cent of its annual revenues over the next three to four years from its new "Mobile Zone" businesses, including converged fixed-mobile Internet services.
Competition in Britain's broadband market is intense, with Carphone Warehouse and BSkyb recently announcing cut-price packages.