VODAFONE is to launch broadband and television services in an attempt to ward off the challenge from BT’s forthcoming attack on the consumer mobile market.

Vodafone already offers home broadband in television services in countries including Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, which it has achieved through a mixture of buying networks, building new fixed-line infrastructure and signing wholesale deals.

Group chief executive Vittorio Colao said the company had been “working quietly” to enter the fray in the UK for some time. Vodafone, traditionally a mobile player, has embarked on a programme to either build or buy fixed-line superfast broadband networks across Europe to enable it to compete with rivals offering mobile contracts alongside television, broadband or fixed-line deals.

Mr Colao said the group would launch a consumer broadband offering with a TV package in Britain supported by its Cable & Wireless fibre network which it currently offers to enterprise customers. It will also use the BT network for those areas where its own infrastructure is not present.

Mr Colao revealed the plans as Vodafone reported revenues were down 1.5 per cent in the three months to September 30, against a 4.2 per cent fall in the previous quarter.

Mr Colao pointed to underlying earnings of between £11.6bn and £11.9bn in the year to March 31. The bottom end of the range was previously £11.4bn, although the figure is a long way short of last year's £12.8bn.

Mr Colao said: "We have made encouraging progress during the quarter. There is growing evidence of stabilisation in a number of our European markets, supported by improvements in our commercial execution and very strong demand for data."

Service revenues in the UK were down by 3.1 per cent in the half year to September 30 after it added 96,000 customers in the second quarter, taking its total base to 19.66 million - of which 40 per cent were pre-paid customers.

Conditions have been much tougher in Spain and Italy, where Vodafone's service revenues were down by 12.4 per cent and 13

per cent respectively.

By contrast the Indian market is booming for Vodafone after revenues rose 11.7 per cent driven by continued customer growth and strong data usage.

Vodafone's Project Spring plan aims to accelerate improvements to its network, resulting in wider 4G coverage in Europe and 3G coverage in emerging markets.