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Vodafone



 
 
Vodafone is a mobile network operator
Mobile network operator

A mobile network operator , also known as carrier service provider , wireless service provider, wireless carrier, mobile phone operator, or cellular company, is a telephone company that provides services for mobile phone subscribers....
 with its headquarters in Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire

Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings....
, Berkshire
Berkshire

Berkshire is a Home Counties in the South East England of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1958, and Letters patent issued confirming...
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, UK. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover and has a market value of about £75 billion (August 2008). Vodafone currently has operations in 25 countries and partner networks in a further 42 countries.

The name Vodafone comes from Voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones."

As of 2006 Vodafone had an estimated 260 million customers in 25 markets
Vodafone market share

Networks associated with the Vodafone Group...
 across 5 continents.






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Encyclopedia


Vodafone is a mobile network operator
Mobile network operator

A mobile network operator , also known as carrier service provider , wireless service provider, wireless carrier, mobile phone operator, or cellular company, is a telephone company that provides services for mobile phone subscribers....
 with its headquarters in Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire

Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings....
, Berkshire
Berkshire

Berkshire is a Home Counties in the South East England of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1958, and Letters patent issued confirming...
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, UK. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover and has a market value of about £75 billion (August 2008). Vodafone currently has operations in 25 countries and partner networks in a further 42 countries.

The name Vodafone comes from Voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones."

As of 2006 Vodafone had an estimated 260 million customers in 25 markets
Vodafone market share

Networks associated with the Vodafone Group...
 across 5 continents. On this measure, it is the second largest mobile telecom group in the world behind China Mobile
China Mobile

China Mobile Communications Corporation , also known as China Mobile or CMCC, is the largest mobile phone operator in China. It is the List of mobile network operators mobile phone operator ranked by number of subscribers, with 415 million customers ....
.

In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Vodafone owns 45% of Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless

Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, owns and operates the largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, based on a total of 83.7 million U.S....
, the largest American mobile telecommunications company.

Vodafone Group


In 1982 Racal Electronics plc's
Racal

Racal Electronics plc was once the third-largest, United Kingdom electronics firm. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index before being purchased by Thomson-CSF in 2000 thereby giving the France firm access to the lucrative UK defence and armaments market....
 subsidiary Racal Strategic Radio Ltd. won one of two UK cellular telephone network licences. The network, known as Racal Vodafone was 80% owned by Racal, with Millicom
Millicom

Millicom International Cellular is a mobile phone network provider in Americas, Africa and Asia. Based in Luxembourg, the company provides mobile services in 16 countries....
 and the Hambros Technology Trust owning 15% and 5% respectively. Vodafone was launched on 1 January 1985. Racal Strategic Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985. On 29 December 1986 Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB£110 million.

In September 1988 the company was again renamed Racal Telecom and on 26 October 1988 Racal Electronics floated 20% of the company. The flotation valued Racal Telecom at GB£1.7 billion. On 16 September 1991 Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal Electronics as Vodafone Group.

In July 1996 Vodafone acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already own for £30.6 million. On 19 November 1996, in a defensive move, Vodafone purchased Peoples Phone for £77 million, a 181 store chain whose customers were overwhelmingly using Vodafone's network. In a similar move the company acquired the 80% of Astec Communications that it did not own, a service provider with 21 stores.

In 1997 Vodafone introduced its Speechmark logo, as it is a quotation mark
Quotation mark

Quotation marks or inverted commas are punctuation marks used in pairs to set off speech, a quotation, a phrase or a word. The pair consists of an opening quotation mark and a closing quotation mark, which may or may not be the same character....
 in a circle; the O's in the Vodafone logotype are opening and closing quotation marks, suggesting conversation.

On 29 June 1999 Vodafone completed its purchase of AirTouch Communications, Inc. and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch plc. Trading of the new company commenced on 30 June 1999. To approve the merger, Vodafone sold its 17.2% stake in E-Plus Mobilfunk
E-Plus

E-Plus is a mobile telecommunications operator in Germany. With 15.0 million subscribers as of 2007, E-Plus is the third largest mobile operator in Germany, after T-Mobile and Vodafone ....
. The acquisition gave Vodafone a 35% share of Mannesmann
Mannesmann

Mannesmann AG was a Germany corporation with headquarters in D?sseldorf. The company was founded in 1890 originally to produce steel tubes. It was traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange....
, owner of the largest German mobile network.
Vodafoneoldlogo
On 21 September 1999 Vodafone agreed to merge its U.S. wireless assets with those of Bell Atlantic Corp to form Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless

Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, owns and operates the largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, based on a total of 83.7 million U.S....
. The merger was completed on 4 April 2000.

In November 1999 Vodafone made an unsolicited bid for Mannesmann, which was rejected. Vodafone's interest in Mannesmann had been increased by the latter's purchase of Orange, the UK mobile operator. Chris Gent would later say Mannesmann's move into the UK broke a "gentleman's agreement" not to compete in each other's home territory. The hostile takeover provoked strong protest in Germany and a "titanic struggle" which saw Mannesmann resist Vodafone's efforts. However, on 3 February 2000 the Mannesmann board agreed to an increased offer of £112bn, then the largest corporate merger ever. The EU approved the merger in April 2000. The conglomerate was subsequently broken up and all manufacturing related operations sold off.

On 28 July 2000 the Company reverted to its former name, Vodafone Group Plc. In April 2001 the first 3G
3G

3G is the third generation of tele standards and technology for mobile networking, superseding 2.5G. It is based on the International Telecommunication Union family of standards under the IMT-2000....
 voice call was made on Vodafone United Kingdom's 3G network.
Vodafone
In 2001 the Company took over Eircell, then part of eircom
Eircom

company_name = eircom Group plc. | company_logo = | company_type = Unlisted public limited company - owned by Babcock and Brown Limited and Eircom Employee Share Ownership Trust Trustee Limited |...
 in Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, and rebranded it as Vodafone Ireland
Vodafone Ireland

Vodafone Ireland Limited, part of the Vodafone Group, is currently the largest mobile phone company in Republic of Ireland in terms of active subscribers, and was previously called Eircell....
. It then went on to acquire Japan's third-largest mobile operator J-Phone, which had introduced camera phones first in Japan.

On 17 December 2001 Vodafone introduced the concept of "Partner Networks" by signing TDC
TDC A/S

TDC A/S is the former telecom monopoly in Denmark. It is now privatized. Thus, it is the biggest company in all aspects of telecommunication in Denmark with landline, mobile phone, Internet, VHF maritime borderline-radio etc....
 Mobil of Denmark. The new concept involved the introduction of Vodafone international services to the local market, without the need of investment by Vodafone. The concept would be used to extend the Vodafone brand and services into markets where it does not have stakes in local operators. Vodafone services would be marketed under the dual-brand scheme, where the Vodafone brand is added at the end of the local brand. (i.e., TDC Mobil-Vodafone etc.)

Vodafone Global Enterprise


is a business set up by Vodafone with the sole purpose of handling Vodafone's multinational
Multinational corporation

A multinational corporation or transnational corporation is a corporation or enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country....
 clients. It is the high end business to business section of Vodafone group, and acts like an operating country (such as for example Vodafone UK). Devices and services available in any operating country, are available to Global Enterprise customers in the same country, and so Vodafone Global Enterprise are able to offer a wide range of products. Vodafone Global Enterprise have a presence in over and this number is expected to grow in future, as with the recent aqcuisition of Ghana Telecom
Ghana Telecom

Ghana Telecom is the national telecom company of Ghana. In 2006 it had around 400,000 customers for fixed and mobile telephony and internet services....
. Since it's foundation in 2007, Global Enterprise has aimed to be a world leader in managed mobility services. Vodafone Global Enterprise are headquartered in Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire

Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings....
, but do have operatives around the world; while many of Vodafone's marketing employees are relocated to London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, Global Enterprise' team will remain in Newbury
Newbury

Newbury may refer to:* Newbury In the United Kingdom:* Newbury, Berkshire**Newbury * Newbury, Kent* Newbury, Somerset* Newbury, Wiltshire...
.

Nick Jeffery leads Vodafone Global Enterprise. He led the creation of Vodafone Global Enterprise in 2007 and continues to define the strategy
Strategy

A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a particular Objective .Strategy is different from Tactic . In military terms, tactics is concerned with the conduct of an engagement while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked....
 and operational execution for Vodafone’s relationship with multi-national corporate customers. Global Enterprise have a dedicated group of account managers, at both global and national levels, who look after customers needs, and are supported by pre-sales and technical consultancy teams.

Products and Services include the and

Vodafone in Europe


Networks in Europe
Vodafone market share

Networks associated with the Vodafone Group...
Majority-ownedMinority-owned No Ownership
Albania
France
Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Poland
Bulgaria
Channel Islands
Germany
Croatia
Cyprus
Greece
Denmark
Estonia
Hungary
Finland
Faroe Islands
Ireland
Iceland
Latvia
Italy
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Macedonia
Norway
Netherlands
Russia
Serbia
Northern Cyprus
Slovenia
Sweden
Portugal
Switzerland
Ukraine
Romania
Spain
Turkey
UK


In February 2002 Finland was added into the mobile community, as Radiolinja is signed as a Partner Network. Radiolinja later changed its named to Elisa
Elisa Oyj

Elisa Oyj is a Finland telecommunications company founded in 1882 that was known until July 2000 as HPY. Elisa Oyj employs about 3000 people and in 2007 had revenue of about ?1.57 billion....
. Later that year the Company rebranded Japan's J-sky mobile internet service as Vodafone live!
Vodafone live!

Vodafone live! is the brand name for the multimedia portal service of mobile phone operator Vodafone, which was initially developed by Japan's J-Phone under the J-Sky brand....
 and on 3 December 2002 the Vodafone brand was introduced in the Estonian market with signing of a Partner Network Agreement with Radiolinja (Eesti). Radiolinja (Eesti) later changed its name to Elisa
Elisa Oyj

Elisa Oyj is a Finland telecommunications company founded in 1882 that was known until July 2000 as HPY. Elisa Oyj employs about 3000 people and in 2007 had revenue of about ?1.57 billion....
.

On 7 January 2003 the Company signed a group-wide Partner agreement with mobilkom Austria
Mobilkom Austria

Mobilkom Austria is a major Austrian mobile network operator. It has been operating commercially since 1994 and in testing since 1992.One of the most well-known commercial brand is A1 in Austria....
. As a result, Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
, Croatia
Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a Central European country at the crossroads of Pannonian Plain, Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea....
, and Slovenia
Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north....
 were added to the community. In April 2003 Og Vodafone was introduced in the Icelandic market and in May 2003 Vodafone Italy
Omnitel

Omnitel is one of the largest telecommunication companies in the Baltics, member of TeliaSonera group. It provides services of carrying and packaging of voice, images, data, information, transactions and entertainment....
 (Omnitel Pronto-Italia) was rebranded Vodafone Italy
Vodafone Italy

Vodafone Italia is an Italy mobile telephony operator. The company has 29,151,000 customers, as of 30 September 2007 and a market share of 33.4%, placing it just behind Telecom Italia Mobile....
. On 21 July 2003 Lithuania
Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest....
 was added to the community, with the signing of a Partner Network agreement with Bite.

In February 2004 Vodafone signed a Partner Network Agreement with Luxembourg
Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany....
's LuxGSM and a Partner Network Agreement with Cyta
CYTA

CYTA is the national telecommunications provider of Cyprus and the main operator of phone, Internet and mobile phone telecommunication in Cyprus....
 of Cyprus. Cyta agreed to rename its mobile phone operations to Cytamobile-Vodafone. In April 2004 the Company purchased Singlepoint airtime provider from John Caudwell (Caudwell Group) and approx 1.5million customers onto its base for £405million, adding sites in Stoke on Trent (England) to existing sites in Newbury (HQ), Birmingham, Warrington and Banbury. In November 2004 Vodafone introduced 3G
3G

3G is the third generation of tele standards and technology for mobile networking, superseding 2.5G. It is based on the International Telecommunication Union family of standards under the IMT-2000....
 services into Europe.

In June 2005 the Company increased its participation in Romania's Connex to 99% and also bought the Czech
Czech Republic

The Czech Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east....
 mobile operator Oskar. On 1 July 2005 Oskar of the Czech Republic was rebranded as Oskar-Vodafone. Later that year on 17 October 2005 Vodafone Portugal
Vodafone Portugal

Vodafone Portugal, a full subsidiary of the Vodafone Group, is the second mobile operator in Portugal, both chronologically and in market share ....
 launched a revised logo, using new text designed by Dalton Maag
Dalton Maag

Dalton Maag Ltd is a typeface design company based in London. The company is responsible for many custom font designs, logo designs, and recently for retail font designs....
, and a 3D version of the Speechmark logo, but still retaining a red background and white writing (or vice versa). Also, various operating companies started to drop the use of the SIM card pattern in the company logo. (The rebranding of Oskar-Vodafone and Connex-Vodafone also does not use the SIM card pattern.) A custom typeface by Dalton Maag
Dalton Maag

Dalton Maag Ltd is a typeface design company based in London. The company is responsible for many custom font designs, logo designs, and recently for retail font designs....
 (based on their font family InterFace) formed part of the new identity.

On 28 October 2005 Connex in Romania was rebranded as Connex-Vodafone and on 31 October 2005 the Company reached an agreement to sell Vodafone Sweden to Telenor
Telenor

Telenor is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor is mostly an international Wireless communication carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia....
 for approximately
Euro

The euro is the official currency of 16 out of 27 European Union member state of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain....
1 billion. After the sale, Vodafone Sweden became a Partner Network. In December 2005 Vodafone won an auction to buy Turkey
Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....
's second-largest mobile phone company, Telsim, for $4.5 billion. In December 2005 Vodafone Spain
Vodafone Spain

Vodafone Spain, part of the Vodafone is a mobile operator in Spain.The network went live in 1995. Its headquarters are in Alcobendas, a city near Madrid....
 became the second member of the group to adopt the revised logo: it was phased in over the following six months in other countries.

In 2006 the Company rebranded its Stoke-on-Trent site as Stoke Premier Centre, a centre of expertise for the company dealing with Customer Care for its higher value customers, technical support, sales and credit control. All cancellations and upgrades started to be dealt with by this call centre. On 5 January 2006 Vodafone announced the completion of the sale of Vodafone Sweden
Vodafone Sweden

Vodafone Sweden is one of the old names of the Swedish mobile phone network of Telenor, now called Telenor Sverige. Prior to becoming Vodafone, it was known as Europolitan....
 to Telenor
Telenor

Telenor is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor is mostly an international Wireless communication carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia....
. On February 2006 the Company closed its Birmingham Call Centre. In 1 February 2006 Oskar Vodafone became Vodafone Czech Republic
Vodafone Czech Republic

Vodafone Czech Republic is a member of the mobile telecommunications group Vodafone. The Vodafone Group established in 1982 and operates in 27 countries across five continents, not to mention partners in a further 33 countries....
, adopting the revised logo and on 22 February 2006 the Company announced that it was extending its footprint to Bulgaria
Bulgaria

The state of Bulgaria , Scientific transliteration Balgarija, officially the Republic of Bulgaria has played a significant role in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe for over fourteen centuries....
 with the signing of Partner Network Agreement with Mobiltel, which is part of mobilkom Austria
Mobilkom Austria

Mobilkom Austria is a major Austrian mobile network operator. It has been operating commercially since 1994 and in testing since 1992.One of the most well-known commercial brand is A1 in Austria....
 group.

On 12 March 2006 former chief, Sir Christopher Gent, who was appointed the honorary post Chairman for Life in 2003, quits following rumours of boardroom rifts. In April 2006 the Company announced that it has signed an extension to its Partner Network Agreement with BITE Group, enabling its Latvian subsidiary "BITE Latvija" to become the latest member of Vodafone's global partner community. Also in April 2006 Vodafone Sweden
Vodafone Sweden

Vodafone Sweden is one of the old names of the Swedish mobile phone network of Telenor, now called Telenor Sverige. Prior to becoming Vodafone, it was known as Europolitan....
 changed its name to Telenor Sverige AB and Connex-Vodafone became Vodafone Romania
Vodafone Romania

Vodafone is Romania's second-largest mobile phone telecommunications network operator. It launched in April 1997 as the first GSM network in Romania ....
, also adopting the new logo. On 30 May 2006 Vodafone announced the then biggest loss in British corporate history (£14.9 billion) and plans to cut 400 jobs; it reported one-off costs of £23.5 billion due to the revaluation of its Mannesmann
Mannesmann

Mannesmann AG was a Germany corporation with headquarters in D?sseldorf. The company was founded in 1890 originally to produce steel tubes. It was traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange....
 subsidiary. On 24 July 2006 the respected head of Vodafone Europe, Bill Morrow, quit unexpectedly and on 25 August 2006 the Company announced the sale of its 25% stake in Belgium's Proximus
Proximus

Proximus, also known as Belgacom Mobile, is the largest of Belgium's three mobile telephone companys. It competes with Mobistar, owned by France T?l?com, and BASE , a subsidiary of Dutch KPN....
 for €2 billion. After the deal, Proximus was still part of the community as a Partner Network. On 5 October 2006 Vodafone announced the first single brand partnership with Og Vodafone which would operate under the name Vodafone Iceland
Vodafone Iceland

Vodafone Iceland is an Icelandic telecommunications company and is part of the Icelandic IT company Teymi.Vodafone Iceland offers mobile, fixed-line, and ADSL/ internet services to individuals and companies....
 and on 19 December 2006 the Company announced the sale of its 25% stake in Switzerland's Swisscom
Swisscom

Swisscom AG is the leading telecommunications provider in Switzerland. Along with Swiss Post, it is a successor company to the former state-owned PTT....
 for CHF4.25 billion (£1.8 billion). After the deal, Swisscom would still be part of the community as a Partner Network. Finally in December 2006 the Company completed the acquisition of Aspective, an enterprise applications systems integrator in the UK, signaling Vodafone's intent to grow a significant presence and revenues in the ICT
ICT

ICT can stand for*Information and Communication Technologies** Information and Communication Technology , Information and Communications Technology as a subject of study...
 marketplace.

Early in January 2007 Telsim in Turkey adopted Vodafone dual branding as Telsim Vodafone and on 1 April 2007 Telsim Vodafone Turkey dropped its original brand and became Vodafone Turkey
Vodafone Turkey

Vodafone Turkey is a List of mobile network operators#Turkey in Turkey, currently the country's second largest. It had 16 million active subscribers in March 07 - approximately a 25% share of the market - and claims to cover just about all urban areas with a population over 5,000....
. On 1 May 2007 Vodafone added Jersey
Jersey

The Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes the nearly uninhabited islands of the Minquiers, ?cr?hous, the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and reefs....
 and Guernsey
Guernsey

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Isles Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.As well as the island of Guernsey itself, it also includes Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou, Burhou, Lihou and other islets....
 to the community, as Airtel was signed as Partner Network in both crown dependencies. In June 2007 the Vodafone live! mobile Internet portal in the UK was relaunched. Front page was now charged for and previously "bundled" data allowance was removed from existing contract terms. All users were given access to the "full" web rather than a Walled Garden and Vodafone became the first mobile network to focus an entire media campaign on its newly launched mobile Internet portal in the UK. On 1 August 2007 Vodafone Portugal
Vodafone Portugal

Vodafone Portugal, a full subsidiary of the Vodafone Group, is the second mobile operator in Portugal, both chronologically and in market share ....
 launched Vodafone Messenger, a service with Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger

Windows Live Messenger is an instant messaging client created by Microsoft that is currently designed to work with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Mobile....
 and Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger

Yahoo! Messenger is an advertisement-supported instant messaging client and YMSG provided by Yahoo!. Yahoo! Messenger is provided free of charge and can be downloaded and used with a generic "Yahoo! ID" which also allows access to other Yahoo! services, such as Yahoo! Mail, where users can be automatically notified when they receive new ema...
.

On 17 April 2008 Vodafone extended its footprint to Serbia
Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country in Central Europe and Balkans Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central part of the Balkans....
 as Vip mobile
Vip mobile

Vip mobile is the third Serbian mobile network operator. It is the Vodafone Partner Network in Serbia.According to its most recent annual financial report submitted to Serbian Economic Register Agency, the company has 341 employees and it posted an annual loss of Serbian dinar5,792,465,000 for the calendar year 2007....
 was added to the community as a Partner Network and on 20 May 2008 the Company added VIP Operator
VIP Operator

Vip operator is the third mobile network operator in Republic of Macedonia.Vip Operator is a member of the Mobilkom Austria Group. On March 26, 2007, Vip Operator acquired the license for mobile communications operation from the Agency for Electronic Communications, worth 10 million euro for third mobile operator in Macedonia, after winning...
 as a Partner Network thereby extending the global footprint to Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia

The Republic of Macedonia , , often referred to simply as Macedonia, is a landlocked country on the Balkans in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west....
. In May 2008 Kall
Kall

Vodafone Faroe Islands is a Faroe Islands telecommunications company, which started in October 2000. On May 29 2008 the company being previously known as Kall was rebranded to Vodafone....
 of the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands or Faeroe Islands or simply Faroe or Faeroes are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately half way between Scotland and Iceland....
 rebranded as Vodafone Faroe Islands.

On 30 October 2008, the company announced a strategic, non-equity partnership with MTS
Mobile TeleSystems

Mobile TeleSystems or MTS is the largest mobile operator in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States with over 89.64 million subscribers as of April 30, 2008....
 group of Russia. The agreement adds Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
, Armenia
Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in South Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea....
, Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is a Turkic peoples country in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic ....
, Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
, and Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan , is a Landlocked_country#Doubly_landlocked_country country in Central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union....
 to the group footprint.

Vodafone in Asia-Pacific


Networks in Asia-Pacific
Vodafone market share

Networks associated with the Vodafone Group...
Majority-ownedMinority-owned No Ownership
Australia
China mainland
Afghanistan
Armenia
India
Fiji
Hong Kong
Indonesia
New Zealand
India
Japan
Malaysia
Samoa
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan


In July 1993 BellSouth New Zealand's network went live and October 1993 Vodafone Australia
Vodafone Australia

Vodafone Australia is a mobile telephone company, a subsidiary of Vodafone operating in Australia. Vodafone Australia is a non-listed, wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone Plc focusing solely on providing mobile telephony services....
's network also went live. This was followed in July 1994 by Vodafone Fiji's network going live.

In November 1998 Vodafone purchased BellSouth
BellSouth

BellSouth Corporation is an United States telecommunications holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth was one of the seven original Regional Bell operating company after the United States Department of Justice forced the American Telephone & Telegraph Company to divest itself of its regional telephone companies on January 1, 1984....
 New Zealand which later became Vodafone New Zealand
Vodafone New Zealand

Vodafone New Zealand is a telecommunications company, a subsidiary of Vodafone Plc operating in New Zealand. It is New Zealand's largest mobile phone operator, based in Auckland, New Zealand....
. In 1999 J-Phone launched the J-sky mobile internet service in response to DoCoMo's i-Mode
I-mode

NTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a wireless internet service popular in Japan. Unlike Wireless Application Protocol, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail and the packet switching network that delivers the data....
 service. In December 2002 J-Phone's 3G
3G

3G is the third generation of tele standards and technology for mobile networking, superseding 2.5G. It is based on the International Telecommunication Union family of standards under the IMT-2000....
 network went live.

On 1 October 2003 J-Phone became 'Vodafone
Vodafone Japan

SoftBank Mobile Corp. , previously as Vodafone K.K. and J-PHONE, is the Japanese subsidiary company of mobile phone operator SoftBank....
' and J-Phone's mobile internet service J-Sky became Vodafone Live!
Vodafone live!

Vodafone live! is the brand name for the multimedia portal service of mobile phone operator Vodafone, which was initially developed by Japan's J-Phone under the J-Sky brand....
. On 3 November 2003 Singapore
Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
 became a part of the community as M1
MobileOne

MobileOne is a telecommunications company in Singapore. Launched in April 1997, it was Singapore's second mobile operator after Singapore Telecommunications and then Starhub was the Singapore's third mobile operator....
 was signed as partner network.

In December 2004 Vodafone Australia agreed to deploy high-speed MPLS
Mpls

MPLS or Mpls can refer to:* Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States* Multiprotocol Label Switching, a data-carrying mechanism in computer networking...
 backbone network built by Lucent Worldwide Services using Juniper
Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks, Inc. is an information technology and computer networking products multinational company, founded in 1996....
 hardware.

Then in April 2005 SmarTone changed the name of its brand to 'SmarTone-Vodafone
SmarTone-Vodafone

SmarTone Mobile Communications Limited is a mobile phone operator in Hong Kong. It provides mobile phone service on GSM, GSM-1800 and W-CDMA with the brand SmarTone....
' after both companies signed a Partner Network Agreement. In August 2005 Vodafone launched 3G technology in New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
 and in October 2005 it began launching 3G technology in Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
. On 28 October 2005 the Company announced the acquisition of a 10 per cent stake in India's Bharti Televentures, which operates the largest mobile phone network in India under the brand name AirTel. On 22 December 2005 the Company announced the completion of the acquisition of the 10% stake in Bharti Televentures of India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
.

In January 2006 Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
, Malaysia
Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
, and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India....
 were added to the Vodafone footprint as Vodafone Group signed a partner network agreement with Telekom Malaysia
Telekom Malaysia

Telekom Malaysia Berhad is the largest telecommunication company in Malaysia and also Southeast Asia's second-largest telecommunication company....
. On 17 March 2006 Vodafone announced an agreement to sell all its interest in Vodafone Japan
Vodafone Japan

SoftBank Mobile Corp. , previously as Vodafone K.K. and J-PHONE, is the Japanese subsidiary company of mobile phone operator SoftBank....
 to SoftBank
SoftBank

is a Japanese telecommunications and media corporation, with operations in broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-Commerce, Internet, broadmedia, technology services, finance, Mass media and marketing, and other businesses....
 for £8.9 billion of which £6.8 billion will be received in cash on closing of deal. Vodafone Japan later changed its name to SoftBank Mobile. On 9 October 2006 Vodafone New Zealand
Vodafone New Zealand

Vodafone New Zealand is a telecommunications company, a subsidiary of Vodafone Plc operating in New Zealand. It is New Zealand's largest mobile phone operator, based in Auckland, New Zealand....
 bought New Zealand's 3rd largest I.S.P.
Internet service provider

An Internet service provider is a company that offers its customers access to the Internet. The ISP connects to its customers using a data transmission technology appropriate for delivering Internet Protocol datagrams, such as dial-up, DSL, cable modem or dedicated high-speed interconnects....
, iHug
IHUG

ihug was New Zealand's third largest Internet service provider , before it was bought, then absorbed by Vodafone New Zealand . According to 2005 estimates, it had over 100,000 internet and phone subscribers....
 and on 1 November 2006 Vodafone Australia
Vodafone Australia

Vodafone Australia is a mobile telephone company, a subsidiary of Vodafone operating in Australia. Vodafone Australia is a non-listed, wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone Plc focusing solely on providing mobile telephony services....
 signed the Australian Football League
Australian Football League

The 'Australian Football League' is the professional Australian national competition in the sport of Australian Rules Football.The league comprises sixteen teams which play 22 home and away rounds between late March and late August or early September....
 (AFL)'s biggest individual club sponsorship deal with the Brisbane Lions
Brisbane Lions

Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club is an Australian Football League club based in Brisbane, Queensland. They are the most successful AFL team this century, having won three consecutive Grand Finals, and appeared in a fourth....
 for seasons 2007, 2008 and 2009.

On 6 February 2007 along with the partnership with Digicel
Digicel

Digicel is a mobile phone network provider covering parts of Oceania, Latin America, and the Caribbean regions. The company, which is incorporated in Bermuda, and based in Jamaica, provides mobile services in 26 countries and territories throughout the Caribbean and Central America with more than six million wireless users....
 Caribbean (see below), Samoa was added as a Partner Market. Then on 11 February 2007 the Company agreed to acquire a controlling interest of 67% in Hutchison Essar Limited for US$11.1 billion. At the same time, it agreed to sell back 5.6% of its AirTel stake back to the Mittals. Vodafone would retain a 4.4% stake in AirTel. On 21 September 2007 Hutch
Vodafone Essar

Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a Mobile network operator in India that covers 21 telecom circles in India . Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply branded Vodafone....
 was rebranded to Vodafone
Vodafone Essar

Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a Mobile network operator in India that covers 21 telecom circles in India . Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply branded Vodafone....
 in India.

On 10 February 2008 Vodafone announced the launching of M-Paisa mobile money transfer service on Afghanistan's Roshan: Afghanistan was added to the Vodafone footprint.

On 9 February 2009 Vodafone announced a merger with 3/Hutchison via a joint venture company VHA Pty Ltd, which would offer products under the Vodafone brand.

Vodafone in Africa and the Middle East


Networks in the Middle East and Africa
Vodafone market share

Networks associated with the Vodafone Group...
Majority-ownedMinority-owned No Ownership
Egypt
DR Congo
Kenya
Bahrain
Ghana
Lesotho
Mozambique
UAE
Qatar1
South Africa2
Tanzania
1Network yet to be launched. Details pending further announcements.
2Network 50% owned.
In November 1998 Vodafone Egypt network went live under the name ClickGSM.

On 18 September 2002 Vodafone signed a Partner Network Agreement with MTC group of Kuwait
Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west....
. The agreement involved the rebranding of MTC to MTC-Vodafone. On 29 December 2003 Vodafone signed another Partner Network Agreement with Kuwait's MTC group. The second agreement involved co-operation in Bahrain and the branding of the network as MTC-Vodafone.

On 3 November 2004 the Company announces that its South African affiliate Vodacom
Vodacom

Vodacom is a pan-African mobile phone company, and was the first cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Vodacom Tanzania , Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
 had agreed to introduce Vodafone's international services, such as Vodafone live!
Vodafone live!

Vodafone live! is the brand name for the multimedia portal service of mobile phone operator Vodafone, which was initially developed by Japan's J-Phone under the J-Sky brand....
 and partner agreements, to its local market.

In November 2005 Vodafone announced that it was in exclusive talks to buy a 15% stake of VenFin in Vodacom
Vodacom

Vodacom is a pan-African mobile phone company, and was the first cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Vodacom Tanzania , Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
 Group, reaching agreement the following day. Vodafone and Telkom then had a 50% stake each in Vodacom
Vodacom

Vodacom is a pan-African mobile phone company, and was the first cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Vodacom Tanzania , Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
.

On 8 November 2006 the Company announced a deal with Telecom Egypt
Telecom Egypt

Telecom Egypt or Telecom Egypt SAE , is Egypt?s main Telephone company. It started in 1854 with the first telegraph line in Egypt. In 1998, it replaced the former Arab Republic of Egypt National Telecommunication Organization ....
 resulting in further co-operation in the Egyptian market and increasing its stake in Vodafone Egypt
Vodafone Egypt

Vodafone Egypt, part of the UK's Vodafone Group, is a mobile network operator in Egypt, formerly known as Click GSM.Vodafone launched its 3G broadband services in Egypt hours after beginning the transmission of etisalat Egypt....
. After the deal, Vodafone Egypt
Vodafone Egypt

Vodafone Egypt, part of the UK's Vodafone Group, is a mobile network operator in Egypt, formerly known as Click GSM.Vodafone launched its 3G broadband services in Egypt hours after beginning the transmission of etisalat Egypt....
 was 55% owned by the group, while the remaining 45% was owned by Telecom Egypt
Telecom Egypt

Telecom Egypt or Telecom Egypt SAE , is Egypt?s main Telephone company. It started in 1854 with the first telegraph line in Egypt. In 1998, it replaced the former Arab Republic of Egypt National Telecommunication Organization ....
.

In December 2007 a Vodafone Group-led consortium was awarded the second mobile phone licence in Qatar
Qatar

Qatar , officially the State of Qatar , is an Arab emirate in Southwest Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the larger Arabian Peninsula....
 and on 3 July 2008 Vodafone agreed to acquire a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom
Ghana Telecom

Ghana Telecom is the national telecom company of Ghana. In 2006 it had around 400,000 customers for fixed and mobile telephony and internet services....
 for $900 million. The acquisition was consummated on 17 August 2008. The same group-led consortium in Qatar wins the second fixed-line licence in the said country on 15 September 2008.

On 9 October 2008, the company offers to acquire an additional 15 per cent stake in Vodacom
Vodacom

Vodacom is a pan-African mobile phone company, and was the first cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Vodacom Tanzania , Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
 group from Telkom. The finalised details of the agreement was announced on 06 November 2008. The agreement calls for Telkom to sell a 15 of its 50 per cent stake in Vodacom
Vodacom

Vodacom is a pan-African mobile phone company, and was the first cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Vodacom Tanzania , Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
 to the group, and demerging the other 35 per cent to its shareholder. Meanwhile, Vodafone has agreed to make Vodacom
Vodacom

Vodacom is a pan-African mobile phone company, and was the first cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Vodacom Tanzania , Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
 its exclusive sub-Saharan Africa investment vehicle. Also, Vodafone agreed to continue maintaining the visibility of the Vodacom
Vodacom

Vodacom is a pan-African mobile phone company, and was the first cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Vodacom Tanzania , Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
 brand. The transaction is expected to close on May/June 2009.

On 28 January 2009, the group announced a partner network agreement with Du
Du (telco)

du is a telecommunications company in the in the United Arab Emirates. Legal name Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company commercially rebranded as du in February 2006....
, the second-largest operator of the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven states situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia....
. The agreement involves co-operation on international clients, handset procurement, mobile broadband etc.

Vodafone in the Americas


Networks in the Americas
Vodafone market share

Networks associated with the Vodafone Group...
Minority-owned No Ownership
USA
Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda
Aruba
Barbados
Bermuda
Bonaire
Cayman Islands
Chile
Curaçao
Dominica
French West Indies
Grenada
Guyana
Haiti
Jamaica
St Kitts & Nevis
St Lucia
St Vincent & the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
Turk & Caicos


For more information, see Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless

Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, owns and operates the largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, based on a total of 83.7 million U.S....
.


In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Vodafone owns 45% of Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless

Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, owns and operates the largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, based on a total of 83.7 million U.S....
, the country's largest mobile carrier after their merger with Alltel
Alltel

Alltel Corporation was, until its acquisition by Verizon Wireless, the fifth largest wireless telecommunications company in the United States with 14.7 million customers, as of the third quarter 2008, after AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, Sprint-Nextel, and T-Mobile USA....
. The percentage of the customer base and revenues of Verizon Wireless that Vodafone consolidates is slightly lower, since some Verizon Wireless subsidiaries have minority investors. (Hence the exact percentages that Vodafone and Verizon report vary from period to period: in June 2006 Vodafone reported that Verizon Wireless owned 98.6% of its customers at that date.) Before this joint venture was formed, Vodafone merged with AirTouch Communications of the U.S. in June 1999 and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch Plc. In September 1999, Vodafone Airtouch announced a $70-billion joint venture with Bell Atlantic Corp. Verizon Wireless was composed of Bell Atlantic's and Vodafone AirTouch's U.S. wireless assets and began operations on April 4, 2000. However, Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc. is an United States Broadband Internet access and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average....
—the company formed when Bell Atlantic and GTE
GTE

GTE Corporation was the largest of the "independent" United States of America telephone companies during the days of the Bell System. It acquired the third largest independent, Contel in 1991....
 merged on June 30, 2000—owns a majority of Verizon Wireless and Vodafone's branding is not used, nor is the CDMA network compatible with GSM phones. This relationship has been quite profitable for Vodafone, but there have historically been three problems with it. The first is the above-mentioned incompatibility with the GSM 900/1800 MHz standard used by Vodafone's other networks, and the consequent difficulty of offering roaming between Vodafone's U.S. and other networks. The other two stem from the fact that Vodafone does not have management control over Verizon Wireless. Vodafone is thus unable to use the Vodafone brand for its U.S. operations, and (perhaps more importantly) has no control of dividend policy at Verizon Wireless and is therefore entirely at the mercy of Verizon management with respect to cash flow from Verizon Wireless.

Perhaps as a consequence of these reasons, Vodafone made a bid for the entirety of AT&T Wireless
AT&T Wireless

AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., formerly part of American Telephone & Telegraph Company, was a wireless telephone carrier in the United States, based in Redmond, Washington, and later traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock symbol "AWE", as a separate entity from its former parent....
 when that company was for sale in 2004. Had this bid been successful, Vodafone would presumably have sold its stake in Verizon Wireless, and then rebranded the resultant business as Vodafone. However, Cingular Wireless
Cingular Wireless

AT&T Mobility LLC is the wholly owned wireless subsidiary of AT&T Inc. AT&T Mobility is the second largest mobile phone company, in terms of number of subscribers, under Verizon Wireless....
 (a joint venture of SBC Communications and BellSouth (both now AT&T
AT&T

AT&T Inc. is the largest US provider of both local and long distance telephone services, and Digital subscriber line Internet access. AT&T is the second largest provider of wireless service in the United States, with over 77 million wireless customers, and more than 150 million total customers....
)) ultimately outbid Vodafone and took control of AT&T Wireless, and Vodafone's relationship with Verizon has continued.

Early in 2006 Verizon re-iterated their desire to buy out the remaining 45% of stock of Verizon Wireless from Vodafone Group. Vodafone has also repeatedly indicated that it would be willing to buy out Verizon's stake.

Verizon has announced that its 4G data network will be LTE, which is considered part of the GSM path and not the CDMA2000
CDMA2000

CDMA2000 is a hybrid 2.5G / 3G technology of mobile telecommunications Standardizations that use CDMA, a multiple access scheme for digital radio, to send voice, data, and Signalling data between mobile phones and cell sites....
 path Verizon has been using; it has been suggested this is to appease Vodafone, which uses GSM on its own networks.

On May 11, 2008, Vodafone sealed a trade agreement with the Chilean Entel PCS
Entel PCS

Entel PCS is a Chilean mobile phone operator, Entel Chile Group subsidiary. Currently, is the second largest cellular phone provider in Chile with 6 million subscribers, behind Chile Movistar with 6.2 million customers, which transforms back into the largest operator with annual growth of the country , having risen their numbers nearly 700,00...
 Chile
Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
, in which Entel PCS enters the world of equipment and international services of Vodafone, and Vodafone will be one of the trademarks of Entel for the wireless business. It is not currently foreseen a sale of Entel PCS to Vodafone, but this is not ruled out for the future. This step will mean Vodafone will enter a market of over 17 million mobile numbers, currently divided among three companies, Telefonica
Telefónica

Telef?nica, S.A., is a Spain Telephone company. Operating globally, it is one of the largest fixed-line and mobile telecommunications companies in the world: List of mobile network operators in terms of number of clients only behind China Mobile and Vodafone, and in the top five in market value....
 Movistar, Claro and Vodafone-Entel PCS.

On 6 February 2007, Vodafone Group signed a three-year partnership agreement with Digicel
Digicel

Digicel is a mobile phone network provider covering parts of Oceania, Latin America, and the Caribbean regions. The company, which is incorporated in Bermuda, and based in Jamaica, provides mobile services in 26 countries and territories throughout the Caribbean and Central America with more than six million wireless users....
 Group. The agreement, which includes Digicel's sister operation in Samoa
Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa , is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean....
, will result to the offering of new roaming capabilities. The two groups will also become preferred roaming partners of each other. Along with Digicel's markets, the Vodafone brand is now present in 81 countries, regions, and territories. What is interesting to note, is that as well as being partners, Digicel
Digicel

Digicel is a mobile phone network provider covering parts of Oceania, Latin America, and the Caribbean regions. The company, which is incorporated in Bermuda, and based in Jamaica, provides mobile services in 26 countries and territories throughout the Caribbean and Central America with more than six million wireless users....
 and Vodafone are also rival operators in Fiji
Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands , is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu....
, where Digicel Fiji recently launched, and Vodafone owns a minority (49%) stake in Vodafone Fiji.

Mobile Money Transfer Service


In March 2007, Safaricom, which is part owned by Vodafone and the leading mobile communication provider in Kenya, launched a mobile payment solution developed by Vodafone. M-PESA is aimed at mobile customers who do not have a bank account, typically because they do not have access to to a bank or their income is insufficient to justify a bank account. The M-PESA system allows customers to deposit and withdraw cash via local agents and transfer money to other mobile phone users via SMS.

By February 2008, the M-PESA money transfer system in Kenya had gained 1.6 million customers and Vodafone announced that it was to extend the service to Afghanistan . The service here was launched on the Roshan network under the brand M-Paisa with a different focus to the Kenyan service. M-Paisa was targeted as a vehicle for microfinance institutions' (MFI) loan disbursements and repayments, alongside business to business applications such as salary disbursement.

The Afghanistan launch was followed in April 2008 by the announcement of further a further launch of M-PESA in Tanzania. As an operator of money transmission services, Vodafone became subject to anti-money laundering regulation and in July 2008, it was revealed that it had deployed a sanctions and PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) screening solution from Datanomic
Datanomic

Datanomic is a software engineering company based in Cambridge.Datanomic's specialty is data quality management. Its software is employed to understand, improve, protect and control data quality; this in turn facilitates data integration, Master Data Management , Customer Data Integration and data migration initiatives as well as providin...
 for weekly screening of 2.5 million customers in Tanzania . The screening service was to be rolled out to Afghanistan, Kenya, India and Datanomic
Datanomic

Datanomic is a software engineering company based in Cambridge.Datanomic's specialty is data quality management. Its software is employed to understand, improve, protect and control data quality; this in turn facilitates data integration, Master Data Management , Customer Data Integration and data migration initiatives as well as providin...
 disclosed that the solution might be used to screen all of Vodafone's 300 million customers globally.

Chief Executives


NameBetween
Sir Gerald WhentOctober 1988 - December 1996
Sir Christopher Gent
Chris Gent

Sir Christopher Charles Gent is the former chief executive officer of Vodafone, a United Kingdom mobile phone company....
January 1997 - July 2003
Arun Sarin
Arun Sarin

Arun Sarin was the Chief executive officer of the world's biggest mobile phone company , Britain's Vodafone Group plc. He is originally of Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin, but has United States citizenship, and is based in the United Kingdom....
July 2003 - July 2008
Vittorio Colao
Vittorio Colao

Vittorio Colao , is an Italy businessman, the current Chief Executive of Vodafone Group.The son of an officer in the Carabinieri, Colao was born in 1961 in Brescia....
July 2008 - present


In a period just short of twenty years from its IPO
Initial public offering

Initial public offering , also referred to simply as a "public offering" or "flotation," is when a company issues common stock or Share to the public for the first time....
, the Company had just three Chief Executives. The fourth CEO, Vittorio Colao, stepped up from Deputy Chief Executive in July 2008. Each of his predecessors made a personal contribution to the development of the Company.

Sir Gerald Whent, at that time an Executive with Racal Electronics Plc, was responsible for the bid for a UK Cellular Network licence. The Mobile Telecoms division was de-merged and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in October 1988 and Sir Gerald became Chief Executive of Racal Telecom Plc. Over the next few years the company grew to become the UK's Market Leader, changing its name to Vodafone Group Plc in the process.

Sir Christopher Gent took over as Chief Executive in January 1997 after Sir Gerald's retirement. Sir Christopher is responsible for transforming Vodafone from a small UK operator into the global behemoth that it is today, through the merger with the American AirTouch and the takeover of Germany's Mannesmann.

Arun Sarin was the driving force behind the Company's move into Emerging Markets such as Asia and Africa, through the purchases such as that of Turkish operator Telsim and a majority stake in Hutchison Essar in India. Faced with increased competition and penetration rates above 100% in the more mature European markets it was necessary to diversify from being a mobile-only business into a company which provided all telecommunications services. This has seen Vodafone launch DSL and other fixed-line services in markets such as Germany and the UK.

Financial results

Vodafone reportes its results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards
International Financial Reporting Standards

International Financial Reporting Standards are standards and interpretations adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board .Many of the standards forming part of IFRS are known by the older name of International Accounting Standards ....
 (IFRS).

Vodafone has some large minority stakes, which are not included in its consolidated turnover. In order to provide additional information on the overall scale and growth trends of its business it publishes "proportionate turnover" figures and these are included in the tables below. For example, if a business in which it owns a 45% stake has turnover of £10 billion, that equals £4.5 billion of proportionate turnover for Vodafone. Proportionate turnover is not an official accounting measure and Vodafone's proportionate turnover should be compared with other companies' statutory turnover.

Vodafone also produces proportionate customer number figures on a similar basis, eg. if an operator in which it has a 30% stake has 10 million customers that equals 3 million proportionate Vodafone customers. This is a common practice in the mobile telecommunications industry.

Year ended 31 MarchTurnover £mProfit before tax £mProfit for the year £mBasic eps
Earnings per share

Earnings per share are the earnings returned on the initial investment amount.In the US, the Financial Accounting Standards Board requires companies' income statements to report EPS for each of the major categories of the income statement: continuing operations, discontinued operations, extraordinary items, and net income....
 (pence)
Proportionate customers (m)
200835,4789,0016,75612.56260
200731,104(2,383)(5,297)(8.94)206.4
2006*29,350(14,835)(21,821)(35.01)170.6
200534,0737,9516,5189.68154.8
200436,4929,0136,1128.70133.4
*Losses for year to 31 March 2006 reflect write downs of assets, principally in relation to the Mannesmann acquisition. Proportionate turnover includes £7,100 million from discontinued operations.

Products

Products promoted by the Company include Vodafone live!
Vodafone live!

Vodafone live! is the brand name for the multimedia portal service of mobile phone operator Vodafone, which was initially developed by Japan's J-Phone under the J-Sky brand....
, Vodafone Mobile Connect USB Modem, Vodafone Connect to Friends, Vodafone at Home, Vodafone 710 and Amobee Media Systems
Amobee Media Systems

Amobee Media Systems, a mobile advertising company, founded in 2005 by , and , created the first ad-serving solution dedicated to mobile operators....
.

Corporate Sponsorship/Ownership

Vodafone sponsors the following teams and events:
  • Albania national football team
    Albania national football team

    The Albania national football team is the national football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania.Although not considered as one of the strongest footballing sides in Europe, Albanians are passionate about their football and the national team has occasionally managed to perform well against more illustriou...
    , 2008 sponsor
  • Brisbane Lions
    Brisbane Lions

    Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club is an Australian Football League club based in Brisbane, Queensland. They are the most successful AFL team this century, having won three consecutive Grand Finals, and appeared in a fourth....
     Football Club, Australian rules football team, major sponsor from 2007
  • Bucharest Ring
    Bucharest Ring

    The Bucharest Ring is a street race track in the Romanian capital city of Bucharest.Designed by famed track designer Hermann Tilke, the circuit is in the city centre, and has the Palace of the Parliament in its infield....
     - Vodafone Bucharest Challenge 07, primary sponsor
  • Clare
    County Clare

    County Clare commonly referred to as simply Clare, is a Counties of Ireland of Ireland and part of the wider Provinces of Ireland of Munster....
     Gaelic Athletic Association
    Gaelic Athletic Association

    The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation mainly focused on promoting Gaelic games: the traditional Ireland sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, Gaelic handball and rounders....
  • DTM
    Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters

    The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a touring car racing series based in Germany, but also with rounds elsewhere in Europe.From 2000 onwards, this new DTM continued the former Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft and ITC which had been discontinued after 1996 due to high costs....
     (German Touring Car Masters) series (2002-2007) (formerly D2).
  • England cricket team
    England and Wales Cricket Board

    The England and Wales Cricket Board is the governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was created on 1 January 1997 combining the roles of the Test and County Cricket Board , the National Cricket Association and the Cricket Council....
  • Vodafone Oaks
    Epsom Oaks

    The Oaks Stakes is a Conditions races Flat racing Horse racing in the United Kingdom open to three-year-old thoroughbred Filly. It is run over a distance of 1 mile 4 furlongs and 10 yards at Epsom Downs Racecourse, and it takes place annually, presently in early June....
     and Vodafone Derby
    Epsom Derby

    The Derby Stakes, known colloquially as The Derby or internationally as the Epsom Derby, is considered one of the most prestigious flat thoroughbred horse races in the world....
     horse races
    Horse racing

    Horse racing is an equestrianism sport that has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot racing of Ancient Rome are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology....
  • Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula One team, title sponsor
  • New Zealand Warriors
    New Zealand Warriors

    The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league team based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership which is the Southern Hemisphere's elite rugby league championship...
     - An NRL
    National Rugby League

    The National Rugby League is the top Sports league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL competition is contested by 16 teams, 15 based in Australia and one based in New Zealand, and is the Southern Hemisphere's elite rugby league championship....
     Rugby League team
  • UEFA Champions League
    UEFA Champions League

    The UEFA Champions League, which evolved from the European Champion Clubs' Cup, is a seasonal club Association football competition organised by UEFA since 1992 for the most successful football clubs in Europe....
     from the 2006/7 season
  • Port Adelaide Football Club
    Port Adelaide Football Club

    Port Adelaide Football Club, often referred to as simply Port or the Power, is an Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia....
     Australian rules football team, joint major sponsor since 1997
  • North Melbourne Football Club Australian rules football team, joint major sponsor since 2008
  • Romania National Football Team
    Romania national football team

    The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil national football team, France national football team, and Belgium national football team, that took part in the first three FIFA World Cu...
    , major sponsor from 2006
  • St Kilda Football Club Australian rules football team, joint major sponsor from 2007
  • Vodafone Arena (Rosenholm) multisport arena in Karlskrona
    Karlskrona

    Karlskrona is a urban areas in Sweden in the provinces of Sweden of Blekinge in south-eastern Sweden. It is the seat of Karlskrona Municipality and the captital of Blekinge County....
    , Sweden
    Sweden

    Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
     (since 2005)
  • Wellington Lions
    Wellington Rugby Football Union

    The Wellington Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Also the cities of Porirua, Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt come under WRFU jurisdiction.It was founded in 1879, making it the second oldest provincial union in New Zealand, with its 125th jubilee celebrate...
     - New Zealand rugby union team
  • West Coast Eagles
    West Coast Eagles

    The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League. The club is based at Subiaco Oval in Perth, Western Australia, Western Australia and was formed in August 1986 when the then Australian Football League expanded to include teams from Perth and Brisbane for the 1987 season....
    , Australian rules football team, elite sponsor since March 2006
  • Triple 8 Race Engineering
    Triple 8 Race Engineering

    Triple Eight Race Engineering was formed in 1996, primarily to design, build and race Vauxhalls on behalf of the General Motors brand in the British Touring Car Championship ....
    , V8 Supercars team, primary sponsor (since 2007)
  • Olympiakos
    Olympiacos

    Olympiacos F.C. , also known simply as Olympiacos, Olympiacos Piraeus or with its full name Olympiacos C.F.P. , Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus, is a Greece association football club, part of Olympiacos CFP, based in Piraeus, Athens....
    , Greek football team
  • Newbury R.F.C.
    Newbury R.F.C.

    Newbury Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing Newbury, Berkshire. They play in National Division One.Current standings...
    , Newbury Rugby Club
  • Newbury Comedy Festival
    Newbury Comedy Festival

    The Newbury Comedy Festival is a festival of comedy which takes place every July in the West Berkshire town of Newbury, Berkshire.It was launched in 2004....
  • Newbury Buses
  • Home-Start International
    Home-Start International

    Home-Start International is a worldwide family support organization. Home-Start works with people who have parenting experience to support local parents....
     worldwide family support charity
  • Al Ahly, Egyptian Club football team
  • UCD Ents, the Entertainments Division of UCD Students' Union - primary sponsor (since 2007)
  • Penske Racing
    Penske Racing

    Penske Championship Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, American Le Mans, and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, Formula One and CART....
    • #12 NASCAR Nationwide Series Dodge driven by Justin Allgaier
      Justin Allgaier

      Justin Allgaier is an United States stock car driver. Justin drives the #12 Verizon Wireless Dodge Charger for Penske Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series....
       through the Cellco Partners venture with Verizon.
    • The #3 and #6 Indy Racing League Dallara-Hondas.
    • This sponsorship was moved from the Sprint Cup Series because their purchase of Alltel broke NASCAR's grandfather clause
      Grandfather clause

      A grandfather clause is an exception that allows an old rule to continue to apply to some existing situations, when a new rule will apply to all future situations....
       prohibiting wireless telephone companies from advertising in the Sprint Cup Series, and was split among all other racing efforts.


Previous sponsorships by Vodafone include those of S.L. Benfica, Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English association football club, based at Old Trafford in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and is one of the most popular football clubs in the world, with over 330 million supporters worldwide ? almost 5% of the world's population....
, Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari is the name for the Gestione Sportiva, the division of the Ferrari automobile company concerned with racing. Though the Scuderia and Ferrari Corse Clienti continue to manage the racing activities of numerous Ferrari customers and private teams, Ferrari's racing division has completely devoted its attention and funding to its...
 and the Benetton
Benetton Formula

Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from 1986 to 2001. The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the Benetton Group....
 (now known as Renault F1
Renault F1

Renault F1 is the Renault company's Formula One racing team. Renault has a long if intermittent history of involvement in motor racing, including Ferenc Szisz winning the 1906 French Grand Prix French Grand Prix, usually regarded as marking the birth of Grand Prix motor racing....
) Formula One constructors,Egypt national football team under the name of ClickGSM and the Australia national rugby union team
Australia national rugby union team

The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the "Wallabies" and competes annually with All Blacks and South Africa national rugby union team in the Tri Nations , in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the Mandela Challenge Plate with...
.

See also



External links

  • - FCReports.com