Vodafone is entering the home broadband and landline market with the launch of Vodafone Connect, which will provide broadband and home phone services to customers across the UK “later in the summer”.

Available at speeds up to 76 Mbps, Vodafone’s nationwide, fibre optic network currently reaches exchanges which pass just short of 20m premises across the UK, with the figure set to increase to around 22m later in the summer.

The service comes with a companion mobile app. Coupled with the router, this is designed to give customers greater control over the devices in the home. ‘Boost’ allows customers to give any device connected to their home network priority over others. ‘Beam’ sends a stronger wi-fi signal to compatible devices wherever they are in the home. ‘Family Time’ allows customers to manage and set time limits, giving them control over when wi-fi is available and when it’s not. And ‘Guest Wi-Fi’ allows controlled wi-fi access to household guests in one click.

Existing Vodafone customers will get £5 off the standard broadband price every month and for the first 12 months it will be further discounted to half price. In addition, Vodafone Red (pay monthly mobile) customers will get inclusive calls anytime to landlines, plus 300 free minutes to mobile numbers.

Vodafone Connect will initially be offered to existing Vodafone UK customers in Manchester, Berkshire and parts of Hampshire and Surrey, followed by Essex, Hertfordshire and Yorkshire in the next few weeks. It will roll out to the rest of Vodafone’s UK customer base later in the summer, and Vodafone said it expects to launch broadband to new customers later in the year. Registration is open here.

Prices range from £10 per month (£5 for Vodafone customers/£2.50 for the first year) for an ADSL connection up to 17Mbps; £20 per month (£15/£7.50) for a fibre connection up to 38Mbps; and £25 per month (£20/£10) for a fibre connection up to 76Mbps.

“This is a really exciting move for Vodafone in the UK as we move our business into a new phase,” said Vodafone UK CEO, Jeroen Hoencamp. “We’re looking forward to bringing our consumer customers the benefits of our experience in providing fixed and mobile services, both here in the UK and elsewhere around the world. Our significant investment is creating hundreds of new jobs over the next couple of years. We are looking forward to the year ahead, including our move into offering TV services, as one which will prove to be a step-change in our customers’ lives.”