Virgin Media's mobile network will be powered by Vodafone's infrastructure from 2021, moving from the BT-EE network that it has been using for 20 years.
The world's first Virtual Mobile Network Operator (MVNO) launched in 1999 as Virgin Mobile and used what was then the One2One network. After the 2007 merger of NTL and Telewest, the group now has three million subscribers.
An extension of the agreement with BT Enterprise was concluded in 2017 and allowed Virgin Media to operate a "deep MVNO" in which it controlled billing, SIM cards and other network components. All clients are expected to migrate by the end of this year.
Due to MVNO's deep infrastructure, customers only need to experience outages and don't even need to change SIM cards.
Virgin and Vodafone have agreed to a five-year contract that runs until 2026. Virgin Media will have access to all Vodafone technologies and services, including 5G. In fact, Virgin Media 5G will be powered by Vodafone even before the expiration of the current agreement with BT.
"This agreement with Vodafone will bring a host of fantastic benefits and experiences to our customers, including 5G services in the near future," said Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media. "We have been working with BT to provide mobile services for many years and we will continue to collaborate in various areas."
"We are delighted that Virgin has recognized the huge investments we have made and continue to make in building the best mobile network in the UK and our role in challenging the market with new business services," said Nick Jeffery, CEO of Virgin Mobile. Vodafone UK. "As a result, they chose us to work with them in the next phase of their development.
"It is an exciting deal between two great British brands. We combine our rich heritage of innovation to create an unlimited world for our customers with unlimited data and 5G offerings."
The extension of the relationship between Vodafone and Virgin Media will increase speculation of a more formal partnership in the future. Liberty Global and Vodafone, Virgin's parent company, have already referred to "asset conversions" that led to the creation of a joint venture in the Netherlands. Vodafone has since bought Liberty assets in the center of the European Union.
The UK is understood to have never been a market under consideration, but former Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao has refused to rule out future negotiations. The combination of Vodafone and Virgin Media would allow the creation of converged network services that can compete with BT-EE.