Vodafone Group plc is a British mobile network operator headquartered in Newbur 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 30 June 2006 Vodafone had 186.8 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.
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 are the only company able to use the shape within their marketing strategies and brand logos and imagery]
Vodafone was a division of Racal Electronics plc in the early 1980s. Then known as Racal Telecom, in 1982 the company won a tender to build and run the second UK cellular telephone network. This was launched as Vodafone on 1 January 1985
A map showing Vodafone's operations in Europe.
October 1991: RacalTelecom is demerged from Racal Electronics and becomes Vodafone Group.
June 1992: Vodafone Germany's (still as "Mannesmann Mobilfunk GmbH") network goes live.
Vodafone's original logo used until the intoduction of the speechmark logo in 1998.
1998: Introduces new logo, known as the Speechmark, as it is a quotation mark in a circle; the O's in the Vodafone logotype are opening and closing quotation marks, suggesting conversation. The logo often appears on the outline of a SIM card.
30 June 1999: Purchases AirTouch Communications, Inc. of the U.S., and changes its name to Vodafone Airtouch Plc. As Airtouch owns 30% percent of the Mobile Phone Division of the German Mannesmann group, Vodafone is required to shed its 17 percent holding in Germany's third-largest mobile provider, E-Plus.
21 September 1999: Announces a $70-billion joint venture with Bell Atlantic Corp. to be called Verizon Wireless which was composed of the two companies' U.S. wireless assets.
February - April 2000: Buys German conglomerate Mannesmann AG to get control over the mobile network operator Mannesmann Mobilfunk GmbH & Co KG, operating the "D2" network. The deal is one of the largest in European history and is Germany's first hostile takeover by a foreign firm. The conglomerate is 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.
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.
Vodafone's Speechmark logo was introduced in 1998, with a revised version phased in 2005. The O's in the name represent quotation marks (this reflects English usage). The logo was often shown against the silhouette of a SIM card.
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.
A former "Connex Center" rebranded as Vodafone in Iaşi, Romania.
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. [6]
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 January2006: 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 Vodafonewhich 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 January2007: Telsim in Turkey adopts Vodafone dual branding as Telsim Vodafone
At 30 June 2006 Vodafone had 186.8 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.
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 are the only company able to use the shape within their marketing strategies and brand logos and imagery]
Vodafone was a division of Racal Electronics plc in the early 1980s. Then known as Racal Telecom, in 1982 the company won a tender to build and run the second UK cellular telephone network. This was launched as Vodafone on 1 January 1985
A map showing Vodafone's operations in Europe.
October 1991: RacalTelecom is demerged from Racal Electronics and becomes Vodafone Group.
June 1992: Vodafone Germany's (still as "Mannesmann Mobilfunk GmbH") network goes live.
Vodafone's original logo used until the intoduction of the speechmark logo in 1998.
1998: Introduces new logo, known as the Speechmark, as it is a quotation mark in a circle; the O's in the Vodafone logotype are opening and closing quotation marks, suggesting conversation. The logo often appears on the outline of a SIM card.
30 June 1999: Purchases AirTouch Communications, Inc. of the U.S., and changes its name to Vodafone Airtouch Plc. As Airtouch owns 30% percent of the Mobile Phone Division of the German Mannesmann group, Vodafone is required to shed its 17 percent holding in Germany's third-largest mobile provider, E-Plus.
21 September 1999: Announces a $70-billion joint venture with Bell Atlantic Corp. to be called Verizon Wireless which was composed of the two companies' U.S. wireless assets.
February - April 2000: Buys German conglomerate Mannesmann AG to get control over the mobile network operator Mannesmann Mobilfunk GmbH & Co KG, operating the "D2" network. The deal is one of the largest in European history and is Germany's first hostile takeover by a foreign firm. The conglomerate is 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.
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.
Vodafone's Speechmark logo was introduced in 1998, with a revised version phased in 2005. The O's in the name represent quotation marks (this reflects English usage). The logo was often shown against the silhouette of a SIM card.
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.
A former "Connex Center" rebranded as Vodafone in Iaşi, Romania.
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. [6]
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 January2006: 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 Vodafonewhich 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 January2007: Telsim in Turkey adopts Vodafone dual branding as Telsim Vodafone
