UK operator Vodafone has announced a new initiative that claims to allow new and upgrading users to cancel their contracts within 30 days for any reason they want.

The scheme is called the Vodafone 30 Day Network Guarantee and seems to be designed to reassure anyone wary of entering into a long (12 months or more) contract, although it also applies to pre-paid deals, presumably to cover any up-front device costs. The announcement came with the inevitable hyperbole about how this is a measure of the confidence Vodafone has in its network and services, apparently oblivious to the inference that it wasn’t previously.

“This industry-first guarantee, for all new and upgrading mobile customers, truly puts the needs of our customers at the heart of our business,” said Jeroen Hoencamp, CEO. “We’ve invested heavily in our network and services over the past few years so we’re now giving our customers the freedom to really test the strength and speed of our network across the UK and, if they’re not totally happy, they can come back to us within 30 days and we’ll cancel their agreement – no questions asked.”

Incidentally Vodafone has also recently claimed a wireless backhaul breakthrough. In partnership with Huawei it has been testing E-band (70-80GHz) Microwave technology, specifically to improve its range. Vodafone Romania managed 10Gbps in urban environments with 99.9% availability over distances of one kilometre. A combination of E-band and traditional microwave Ethernet managed 4Gbps over 7km.