Vodafone has signed a deal with BT Wholesale to sell the telco's fixed-line broadband services alongside its traditional mobile packages. 

Vodafone refused to comment on whether there would be a charge for the branded service or whether it would be provided free for mobile customers.

"At the moment there is no more detail about the product or pricing and this is just the announcement of the partnership," a Vodafone spokeswoman told vnunet.com.

Vodafone's announcement confirmed that the service is expected to be up and running before the end of the year.

The mobile giant has seemed to be lagging behind other operators, many of which have launched triple-play or quad-play packages covering mobile, fixed-line, broadband and TV services.

Vodafone was also trumped in its launch of an HSDPA mobile broadband service when T-Mobile undercut its price and offered more download bandwidth. 

However, Vodafone's decision to resell a service from BT Wholesale may have been prompted by the failure of 'free' broadband services from Orange and Carphone Warehouse to cope with customer demand.

"Choosing BT as our partner enables us to provide high quality fixed-line broadband services to customers quickly and cost-efficiently right across the UK," said Nick Read, chief executive of Vodafone UK.