   #copyright

Vodafone

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Companies

   Vodafone Group plc
   Image:VodafoneNewLogo.jpg
       Type     Public ( LSE: VOD,
                NYSE: VOD, FWB: VOD)
     Founded    1983 as Racal Telecom, independent 1991
   Headquarters Flag of United Kingdom Newbury, England, UK
    Key people  Flag of United Kingdom Sir John Bond, Chairman

                Flag of United States Paul Hazen, Deputy Chairman
                Flag of India Arun Sarin, CEO
     Industry   Mobile telecommunications
     Products   Mobile networks, Telecom services, Etc.
     Revenue    £29.350 billion GBP (2006)
    Net income  £21.821 billion GBP (2006)
     Website    www.vodafone.com

   Vodafone Group plc is a mobile network operator headquartered in
   Newbury, Berkshire, England. It is the largest mobile
   telecommunications network company in the world by turnover and has a
   market value of about £86 billion (November 2006). Vodafone currently
   has equity interests in 27 countries and Partner Networks (networks in
   which it has no equity stake) in a further 33 countries. Its portfolio
   of global services, supported by its global brand, is available in a
   total of 59 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."

   At 31 January 2007 Vodafone had 200 million proportionate customers in
   27 markets across 5 continents. ("Proportionate customers" means, for
   example, that if Vodafone has a 30% stake in a business with a million
   customers, that is counted as 300,000). On this measure it is the
   second-largest mobile telecom group in the world behind China Mobile.
   The six markets where it has more than ten million proportionate
   customers are the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, Italy,
   Spain and Turkey. In the U.S., these customers come via its minority
   stake in Verizon Wireless, and in the other five markets Vodafone has
   majority-controlled subsidiaries.

   On 30 May 2006, the company announced a loss before tax of £14.9
   billion ($27.9bn) for 2005, the biggest loss in British corporate
   history. The loss for the year from continuing operations was £17.2
   billion and the bottom line loss for the financial year was £21.8
   billion. The company was pushed into loss by impairment charges of
   £23.5 billion, which related to the acquisition of Mannesmann several
   years earlier, and losses of £4.6 billion in relation to its
   discontinued business in Japan. At an operating level it remained
   highly profitable, with an operating profit on continuing operations of
   £9.4 billion before impairment costs.

   On 11 February 2007 Vodafone agreed to acquire a controlling interest
   of 67% in India's Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipping Reliance
   Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, owner of the remainder.
   Hutch is India's fourth largest mobile provider. The company has
   offered to buy Essar's stake on the same terms.

Vodafone in Europe

   Vodafone currently operates in the following countries in Europe. The
   proportionate customer numbers are for December 2005:
   Country Network Name (former) Ownership Proportionate Customers Market
   Share; Rank Local Competitor(s)
   Albania Vodafone 99.9% 919,000 48%; 2/2 AMC
   Austria A1 0% -- 38.7%; 1/4 T-Mobile, One, 3
   Belgium Proximus 0% -- 48.7%; 1/4 Base, Mobistar
   Bulgaria Mobiltel 0% 4,000,000 52.5%; 1/4

   GloBul, Vivatel
   Croatia VIPnet 0% -- 42.9%; 2/3 T-Mobile, Tele2
   Republic of Cyprus Cytamobile-Vodafone 0% -- 89.5%; 1/2 Areeba
   Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus KKTC Vodafone 100% no data
   available ?;2/2 KKTCell
   Czech Republic Vodafone (Oskar) 100% 2,413,000 19.62%; 3/3 O[2],
   T-Mobile.
   Denmark TDC Mobil 0% -- 41.4%; 1/4 Sonofon, Telia, 3
   Estonia Elisa Oyj (Radiolinja) 0% -- ?%; 1/3 Tele2, EMT
   Finland Elisa Oyj (Radiolinja) 0% -- 30%; 1/3 Sonera, Finnet
   France ( Metropolitan) SFR 43.9% 17,101,000 ( 30 June 2005) 36%; 2/3
   Orange, Bouygues Télécom
   Germany Vodafone (D2) 100% 30,622,000 35.64%; 2/4 T-Mobile, E-Plus,
   O[2]
   Greece Vodafone (Panafon) 99.9% 4,955,000 35.6%; 2/4 Cosmote, TIM
   Hellas, Q-telecom
   Hungary Vodafone 100% 2,134,000 21.41%; 3/3 T-Mobile, Pannon
   Iceland Vodafone (Og Vodafone; Tal, Íslandssími) 0% -- 35%; 2/2 Síminn,
   Sko, HIVE
   Ireland Eircell-Vodafone (Eircell) 100% 2,178,000 51%; 1/4 O[2],
   Meteor, 3
   Italy Vodafone (Omnitel) 76.86% 20,129,000 35%; 2/4 TIM, Wind, 3
   Latvia Bitė Latvija 0% -- ?%; 3/3 LMT GSM, Tele2
   Lithuania Bitė Lietuva 0% -- ?%; 2/3 Tele2, Omnitel
   Luxembourg LUXGSM 0% -- 64%; 1/5 Tango, VOXmobile
   Malta Vodafone (Telecell) 100% 188,000 54%; 1/2 Go Mobile
   Netherlands Vodafone (Libertel) 99.9% 3,817,000 24.2%; 2/4 KPN,
   T-Mobile, Orange
   Poland Plus GSM 19.6% 2,112,000 33%; 2/3 Orange, Play, Era
   Portugal Vodafone (Telecel) 100% 4,618,000 37.2%; 2/3 TMN, Optimus
   Romania Vodafone (Connex) 100% 7,717,000 45.4%; 2/5 Orange, Cosmote,
   Zapp Mobile
   Slovenia Si.mobil-Vodafone 0% -- 24.9%; 2/3 Mobitel
   Spain Vodafone (Airtel) 100% 14,464,000 33.1%; 2/4 movistar, Orange,
   Yoigo
   Sweden Telenor (Vodafone; Europolitan) 0% -- 16%; 3/4 Telia, Tele2, 3,
   Switzerland Swisscom 0% -- 62%; 1/3 Orange SA, TDC, Tele2
   Turkey Vodafone(Telsim) 100% 12,748,000 24%; 2/3 Turkcell, Avea
   United Kingdom Vodafone 100% 16,939,000 24%; 2/5 O[2], T-Mobile, 3,
   Orange UK
   * Local company with more than 50% being owned by the parent company is
   considered a Subsidiary; Ownership of less than 50% makes the local
   company an Affiliate. Local companies without ownership at all are
   Partners.

   see About Vodafone: Global Footprint, 30 June 2006

History

   In 1982 Racal Electronics plc's 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 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 floation
   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 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 Mobilefunk. The
   acquisition gave Vodafone a 35% share of Mannesmann, owner of the
   largest German mobile network.

   On 21 September 1999 Vodafone agreeded to merge its U.S. wireless
   assets with those of Bell Atlantic Corp to form Verizon Wireless. 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 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.
     * 28 July 2000: Reverts to its former name, Vodafone Group Plc
     * 16 April 2001: First 3G voice call on Vodafone United Kingdom's 3G
       network.

   Vodafone in Iaşi, Romania.
   Vodafone in Iaşi, Romania.
   A map showing Vodafone's operations in Europe.
   A map showing Vodafone's operations in Europe.
     * 2001: Takes over Eircell, then part of eircom in Ireland, and
       rebrands it Vodafone Ireland.
     * 2001-2002: Acquires Japan's third-largest mobile operator J-Phone,
       which had introduced camera phones first in Japan.
     * 17 December 2001: Introduces the concept of "Partner Networks" by
       signing TDC Mobil of Denmark. The new concept involves 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.)
     * 2 February 2002: Finland is added into the mobile community, as
       Radiolinja is signed as a Partner Network. Radiolinja later changed
       its named to Elisa.
     * 2002: Rebrands Japan's J-sky mobile internet service as Vodafone
       live!™
     * 3 December 2002: Brand is introduced in the Estonian market with
       signing of a Partner Network Agreement with Radiolinja (Eesti).
       Radiolinja (Eesti) later changed its name to Elisa.
     * 7 January 2003: Signs a group-wide Partner agreement with mobilkom
       Austria. As a result, Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia is added to
       the community.
     * 16 April 2003: Og Vodafone is introduced in the Icelandic market.
     * 13 May 2003: Omnitel is rebranded Vodafone Italy.
     * 21 July 2003: Lithuania is added to the community, with the signing
       of a Partner Network agreement with Bité.
     * 16 February 2004: Signs a Partner Network Agreement with
       Luxembourg's LuxGSM.
     * 20 February 2004: Signs a Partner Network Agreement with Cyta of
       Cyprus. Cyta agreed to rename its mobile phone operations to
       Cytamobile-Vodafone.
     * April 2004: Purchases Singlepoint airtime provider from John
       Caudwell (Caudwell Group) and approx 1.5million customers onto its
       base for est £405million, adding sites in Stoke on Trent (England)
       to existing sites in Newbury (HQ), Birmingham, Warrington and
       Banbury
     * November 2004: Introduces 3G services into Europe.
     * June 2005: Increases its participation in Romania's Connex to 99%;
       also buys Czech mobile operator Oskar.
     * 1 July 2005: Oskar of Czech Republic is rebranded as
       Oskar-Vodafone.
     * 17 October 2005: Vodafone Portugal launches a revised logo, using
       new text designed by Dalton Maag, and a 3D version of the
       Speechmark logo, but still retaining a red background and white
       writing (or vice versa). Also, various operating companies start 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 (based on
       their font family InterFace) forms part of the new identity.
     * 28 October 2005: Connex in Romania is rebranded as Connex-Vodafone.
     * 31 October 2005: Reaches an agreement to sell Vodafone Sweden to
       Telenor for approximately € 1 billion. After the sale, Vodafone
       Sweden becomes a Partner Network.
     * 13 December 2005: Wins an auction to buy Turkey's second-largest
       mobile phone company, Telsim, for $4.5 billion.
     * December 2005: Vodafone Spain becomes the second member of the
       group to adopt the revised logo, and it is phased in over the
       following six months in other countries.
     * 5 January 2006: Announces the completion of the sale of Vodafone
       Sweden to Telenor.
     * 1 February 2006: Oskar Vodafone becomes Vodafone Czech Republic,
       adopting the revised logo.
     * 22 February 2006: Announces that it is extending its footprint to
       Bulgaria with the signing of Partner Network Agreement with
       Mobiltel, which is part of mobilkom Austria group.
     * 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.
     * 11 April 2006: Announces 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.
     * 20 April 2006: Vodafone Sweden changes its name to Telenor Sverige
       AB.
     * 26 April 2006: Connex-Vodafone becomes Vodafone Romania, also
       adopting the new logo.
     * 30 May 2006: Announces the biggest loss in British corporate
       history (£14.9 billion) and plans to cut 400 jobs; reports one-off
       costs of £23.5 billion due to the revaluation of their Mannesmann
       subsidiary.
     * 25 August 2006: Announces the sale of 25% stake in Belgium's
       Proximus for Euro 2 billion. After the deal, Proximus will still be
       part of the community as a Partner Network.
     * 5 October 2006: Vodafone announces first single brand partnership
       with Og Vodafone which will now operate under the name Vodafone
       Iceland
     * 19 December 2006: Announces the sale of 25% stake in Switzerland's
       Swisscom for CHF4.25 billion (£1.8 billion). After the deal,
       Swisscom will still be part of the community as a Partner Network.
     * 1 January 2007: Telsim in Turkey adopts Vodafone dual branding as
       Telsim Vodafone.
     * 1 April 2007: Telsim Vodafone Turkey drops its original brand and
       becomes Vodafone Turkey

Vodafone in Asia-Pacific

   Vodafone currently operates in the following countries in the
   Asia-Pacific region. The proportionate customer numbers are at 30 June
   2006:
   Country Network Name (former) Ownership Proportionate Customers Market
   Share; Rank Local Competitor/s
   Australia Vodafone 100% 3,278,000 8%; 3/4 Telstra, Optus, 3, Virgin
   Mobile
   China (Mainland) China Mobile 3.3% 8,250,000 ( 30 June 2005) 65%; 1/2
   China Unicom
   China (Hong Kong) SmarTone-Vodafone (SmarTone) 0% -- ?%; 2/5 3,
   Peoples, CSL, New World, PCCW
   Fiji Vodafone 49% 95,000 100%; 1/1
   Indonesia XL 0% -- ?%; 3/ Telkomsel, Indosat IM3
   India AirTel 4.4% ?%; 1/ Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Reliance
   Communications, Idea, Spice, Aircel
   India Hutch 67% 15,611,000 10.99%; 4/
   Malaysia Celcom 0% -- 31.2%; 2/3 Maxis Communications, Digi.com
   New Zealand Vodafone (BellSouth) 100% 2,200,000 52.4%; 1/2 Telecom
   Samoa Digicel 0% --
   Singapore M1 0% -- 28.5%; 3/3 SingTel, StarHub
   Sri Lanka Dialog 0% -- ?%; 1/4
   note:50% ownership of local company is considered a Subsidiary; Less
   than 50% makes the local company an Affiliate. Local companies without
   ownership are Partners.

   ** data based on the assumption of the expected completion of the
   complex transaction in second quarter 2007

History

     * July 1993: BellSouth New Zealand's network went live.
     * October 1993: Vodafone Australia's network went live.
     * July 1994: Vodafone Fiji's network went live.
     * November 1998: Purchases BellSouth New Zealand, it later becomes
       Vodafone New Zealand.
     * 1999-2000: J-Phone launched the J-sky mobile internet service in
       response to DoCoMo's i-Mode service.
     * December 2002: J-Phone's 3G network went live.
     * 3 November 2003: Singapore becomes a part of the community as M1 is
       signed as partner network
     * October 1, 2003: J-Phone becomes ' Vodafone'; J-Phone's mobile
       internet service J-Sky becomes Vodafone Live!
     * April 2005: SmarTone changed the name of its brand to '
       SmarTone-Vodafone' after both companies signed a Partner Network
       Agreement.
     * August 2005: Launches 3G technology in New Zealand.
     * October 2005: Begins launching 3G technology in Australia
     * 28 October 2005: Announces 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.
     * 22 December 2005: Announces the completion of the acquisition of
       the 10% stake in Bharti Televentures of India.
     * 25 January 2006: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka are added to
       the Vodafone footprint as Vodafone Group signs a partner network
       agreement with Telekom Malaysia.
     * 17 March 2006: Announces an agreement to sell all its interest in
       Vodafone Japan to SoftBank 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
     * 9 October 2006:: Vodafone New Zealand buys New Zealand's 3rd
       largest I.S.P., iHug
     * 1 November 2006: Vodafone Australia signs the Australian Football
       League (AFL)'s biggest individual club sponsorship deal with the
       Brisbane Lions from seasons 2007- 2009
     * 6 February 2007: Along with the partnership with Digicel Caribbean
       (see below), Samoa is added as a Partner Market.
     * 11 February 2007: Acquires a controlling interest of 67% in
       Hutchison Essar Limited for US$11.1 billion. At the same time, it
       sells back 5.6% of AirTel stake back to the Mittals. Vodafone will
       retain a 4.4% stake in AirTel.

Vodafone in the Middle East and Africa

   Vodafone currently operates in the following countries in the Middle
   East and Africa region. The proporationate customer numbers are as at
   31 December 2005.
   Country Network Name (former) Ownership Proportionate Customers Market
   Share Status
   Bahrain MTC-Vodafone -- -- 33%; 2/2 Partner
   Democratic Republic of Congo Vodacom 25.5%* 49%; 1/? *
   Egypt Vodafone 55% 9,800,000 47%; 2/3 Subsidiary
   Kenya Safaricom 35% 1,221,000 63.86%; 1/2 Affiliate
   Kuwait MTC-Vodafone -- -- 59.45%; 1/2 Partner
   Lesotho Vodacom 44.15%* 80%; 1/2 *
   Mozambique Vodacom 49%* 33%; 2/2 *
   South Africa Vodacom 50% 7,043,000 59%; 1/3 Subsidiary
   Tanzania Vodacom 32.5%* 55%; 1/? *
   *Held through the affiliate, Vodacom South Africa; therefore Vodafone
   Group does not have direct formal relationships with them.

History

     * October 1998: Vodafone Egypt network went live under the name
       ClickGSM.
     * 18 September 2002: Vodafone signs a Partner Network Agreement with
       MTC group of Kuwait. The agreement involved the rebranding of MTC
       to MTC-Vodafone.
     * 29 December 2003: Vodafone signs another Partner Network Agreement
       with Kuwait's MTC group. The second agreement involves the
       co-operation in Bahrain and the branding of the network as
       MTC-Vodafone.
     * 3 November 2004: Announces that its South African affiliate Vodacom
       has agreed to introduce Vodafone's international services, such as
       Vodafone live! and partner agreements, to its local market.
     * 3 November 2005: Announces that it is in exclusive talks to buy the
       15% stake of VenFin in Vodacom Group, reaching agreement the
       following day. Vodafone and Telkom will then have a 50% stake each
       in Vodacom.
     * 08 November 2006: Announces a deal with Telecom Egypt resulting in
       further co-operation in the Egyptian market; and increasing of
       stake in Vodafone Egypt. After the deal, Vodafone Egypt will be 55%
       owned by the group, while the remaining 45% will be owned by
       Telecom Egypt.

Vodafone in the Americas

   Vodafone currently operates in the following countries in the Americas
   region.
   Country region/territory Network Name (former) Ownership Proportionate
   Customers Market Share Official Website Local Competitor/s
   Antigua and Barbuda Digicel 0% -- www.digicelantiguaandbarbuda.com
   Argentina CTI Móvil 0% -- 32%; 2/3 www.cti.com.ar Personal, movistar
   Barbados Digicel 0% -- www.digicelbarbados.com
   Bermuda Digicel 0% -- www.digicelbermuda.com
   Brazil Claro 0% -- 24.0%; 3/? www.claro.com.br Vivo, TIM, Oi
   Chile Claro (Smartcom) 0% 0 16.7%; 3/3 www.clarochile.cl movistar,
   Entel PCS
   Colombia Comcel 0% -- 64.26%; 1/3 www.comcel.com movistar, Colombia
   Móvil
   Dominica Digicel 0% -- www.digiceldominica.com
   Ecuador Porta 0% -- 65.4%; 1/? www.porta.net movistar, Alegro PCS
   El Salvador Claro (CTE Personal) 0% -- 34%; ?/? www.claro.com.sv
   movistar, Tigo, Digicel
   France French Guiana Digicel 0% -- www.digicel.fr Orange SA
   Guadeloupe
   Martinique
   Grenada Digicel 0% -- www.digicelgrenada.com
   Guatemala Claro (PCS Digital) 0% -- 47%; 1/? www.claro.com.gt movistar,
   Tigo
   Guyana Digicel 0% -- www.digicelguyana.com
   Haiti Digicel 0% -- www.digicelhaiti.com
   Honduras Claro (PCS Honduras) 0% -- 37%; ?/? www.claro.com.hn
   Jamaica Digicel 0% -- www.digiceljamaica.com
   Mexico Telcel 0% -- 77.14%; 1/4 www.telcel.com movistar, Iusacell,
   Unefon
   Netherlands Aruba Digicel 0% -- ?; ?/? www.digicelaruba.com
   Bonaire Digicel 0% -- ?%; ?/? www.digicelbonaire.com
   Curaçao Digicel 0% -- ?%; ?/? www.digicelcuracao.com
   Nicaragua Claro (Enitel) 0% -- 68%; 1/? www.claro.com.ni
   Paraguay CTI Móvil (Porthable) 0% -- 12%; 4/4 www.cti.com.py] Personal,
   Tigo, VOX
   Peru Claro ( TIM) 0% -- 36%; 2/3 www.claro.com.pe movistar
   St Kitts and Nevis Digicel 0% -- www.digicelstkittsandnevis.com
   St Lucia Digicel 0% -- www.digicelstlucia.com
   St Vincent and the Grenadines Digicel 0% -- www.digicelsvg.com
   Trinidad and Tobago Digicel 0% -- www.digiceltt.com
   United Kingdom Anguilla Digicel 0% -- ?; ?/? www.digicelanguilla.com
   Cayman Islands Digicel 0% -- ?%; ?/? www.digicelcayman.com
   Turks and Caicos Digicel 0% -- ?%; ?/? www.digiceltci.com
   United States Verizon Wireless 45% 22,785,000 ?%; 2/4
   www.verizonwireless.com Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile
   Uruguay CTI Móvil 0% -- 17%; ?/? www.cti.com.uy movistar, ancel
   * Local company with more than 50% being owned by the parent company is
   considered a Subsidiary; Ownership of less than 50% makes the local
   company an Affiliate. Local companies without ownership at all are
   Partners.

United States

   In the United States, Vodafone owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, the
   country's second largest mobile carrier. 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. The first wireless
   business with a national footprint in the U.S., 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—the company formed when Bell Atlantic and GTE 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 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 (a joint venture of SBC
   Communications and BellSouth (both now AT&T)) 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.

Latin America

   On 15 November 2005, Vodafone Group announced a group-wide co-operation
   agreement with America Movil of Mexico. The agreement involves
   co-operation on international services and roaming. The services
   include Voice and GPRS Roaming services, Preferred Roaming and Virtual
   Home Environment. Included in the agreement are the 13 networks owned
   and controlled by America Movil (except Tracfone in the United States),
   and the various operating companies of Vodafone and its Partner
   Networks.

Caribbean

   On 6 February 2007, Vodafone Group signed a three-year partnership
   agreement with Digicel Group. The agreement, which includes Digicel's
   sister operation in Samoa, 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.

Financial results

   For more details, please visit

   From its 31 March 2006 year end onwards Vodafone will report its
   results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards
   (IFRS). It has issued results amended to IFRS standards for its 31
   March 2004 and 31 March 2005 year ends for information purposes, and
   these are shown in the first table below.

   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 March Turnover £m Profit before tax £m Profit for the
   year £m Basic eps (pence) Proportionate customers (m) Proportionate
   turnover £m
   2006* 29,350 (14,835) (21,821) (35.01) 170.6 48,455
   2005 34,073 7,951 6,518 9.68 154.8 43,602
   2004 32,492 9,013 6,112 8.70 133.4 39,446

   *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.

   The following table shows Vodafone's results under UK generally
   accepted accounting principles (UK GAAP). By the end of its key
   acquisition drive, which ran from 1999 to 2002, Vodafone had more than
   £100 billion of goodwill on its balance sheet. As UK GAAP requires
   goodwill to be written off against the profit and loss account Vodafone
   has shown large statutory losses since then. However this write off of
   goodwill is purely an accounting adjustment and does not affect
   Vodafone's cash position or its ability to pay dividends. Despite the
   reported losses it is in reality a highly profitable company, and this
   is reflected in the fact that it has often been ranked among the top
   twenty companies in the world by market capitalisation. Vodafone's
   accounts for the years shown in the table below include a great number
   of material one off transactions, and apart from noting the rapid
   expansion of the group in the years covered, no conclusions about
   underlying trends should be drawn from the figures without examining
   the accounts in more detail.
   Year ended 31 March Turnover £m Profit/(loss) before tax £m
   Profit/(loss) for the year £m Basic eps (pence) Amortisation of
   goodwill £m Proportionate customers (m) Proportionate turnover £m +
   2005 34,133 (4,702) (7,540) (11.39) 14,700 154.8 43,602
   2004 33,559 (5,047) (9,015) (13.24) 15,207 133.4 39,446
   2003 30,375 (6,208) (9,819) (14.41) 14,056 119.7 33,926

   ^1 Vodafone Group Plc. Key Performance Indicator press release for the
   quarter to 30 June 2005, 25 July 2005.

Corporate sponsorship

     * Clare Gaelic Athletic Association, Ireland (formerly sponsored by
       Eircell)
     * Daily Express Life Savers Awards
     * David Beckham A two-year deal that was signed in 2002, later
       extended by another 12 months then ended in July 2005
     * DTM (the German touring car series)
     * England cricket team
     * Vodafone Oaks and Vodafone Derby horse races at Epsom.
     * AFC Newbury (The football club from Newbury, where Vodafone was
       founded.)
     * McLaren Formula One constructor (from 2007), primary sponsor
     * UEFA Champions League from the 2006/7 season
     * Brisbane Lions Football Club, Australian rules football team, major
       sponsor from 2007
     * Port Adelaide Football Club Australian rules football team, joint
       major sponsor since 1997
     * St Kilda Football Club Australian rules football team, joint major
       sponsor from 2007
     * Vodafone Arena Rosenholm multisport arena in Karlskrona, Sweden
       (since 2005)
     * Vodafone Arena Multi purpose venue. Arena in Melbourne Park,
       Melbourne, Australia
     * West Coast Eagles, Australian rules football team, elite sponsor
       since March 2006
     * Triple 8 Race Engineering, V8 Supercars team, primary sponsor
       (since 2007)
     * British University Sports Association (BUSA),
     * Olympiakos, Greek football team
     * Newbury Comedy Festival since 2004
     * Al Ahly Football team from Egypt, Champion of Africa and Bronze
       Medalist at the Fifa CWC
     * Home-Start International Worldwide family support charity, working
       with volunteers to help children

   Previous relationships include sponsorships of SL Benfica, Manchester
   United, Ferrari Formula One constructor and New Zealand Warriors Rugby
   League team.

Products

USB 3G modems

   Vodafone 3G USB modem
   Vodafone 3G USB modem

   The company Huawei makes USB 3G datacard modems for Vodafone (Vodafone
   Mobile Connect USB Modem).

   Using this USB card, customers are able to access 3G broadband
   services, from many types of computer. The software installs itself
   from the modem, reducing the need for technical expertise from users.

   Using HSDPA technology, it offers download speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps and
   upload speeds of upto 384 Kbps, which depends on Vodafone's network on
   each of the countries offering 3G services. When outside of 3G
   broadband coverage, customers will automatically be able to access the
   web using Vodafone´s existing GPRS services.

   For further information, please visit
   http://www.vodafone.co.uk/usbmodem

Fixed Line Services

   In Spetember 2006, Vodafone announced that its move to enter the
   fixed-line broadband space in the UK. It has entered into an agreement
   with BT to resell BT's DSL Broadband connections under its own brand
   name.

   Vodafone is present in the fixed-line space in Germany through Arcor, a
   telecom operator in which Vodafone holds a majority stake.

Trivia

     * Vodafone are to thank for the current size and shape of SIM card in
       Europe. The small rectangle with one corner slit was their
       invention which they allowed other network providers to use in the
       interest of the customer, so that all SIMs fit all mobile phones.
       This is the reason why Vodafone is the only company able to use the
       shape within their marketing strategies and brand logos and
       imagery.

     * Vodafone does not yet have any network coverage in Madhya Pradesh,
       India, the state in which its global CEO Arun Sarin was born.

Audio Branding

   March 2007 - Vodafone commissions Walter Werzowa, founder and owner of
   the audio branding company, Musikvergnuegen, to create the Vodafone
   Small Business Tariffs' Mnemonic.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodafone"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
