ABOUT VODAFONE
Vodafone Group Plc is the world's leading mobile telecommunications company, with a
significant presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the United
States through the Company's subsidiary undertakings, joint ventures, associated
undertakings and investments.
The Group's mobile subsidiaries operate under the brand name 'Vodafone'. In the United
States the Group's associated undertaking operates as Verizon Wireless. During the last
two financial years, the Group has also entered into arrangements with network operators
in countries where the Group does not hold an equity stake. Under the terms of these
Partner Network Agreements, the Group and its partner networks co-operate in the
development and marketing of global services under dual brand logos.
At 30 September 2007, based on the registered customers of mobile telecommunications
ventures in which it had ownership interests at that date, the Group had 241 million
customers, excluding paging customers, calculated on a proportionate basis in accordance
with the Company's percentage interest in these ventures.
The Company's ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the
Company's American Depositary Shares ('ADSs') are listed on the New York Stock
Exchange. The Company had a total market capitalisation of approximately £88 billion at
3 July 2007.
Vodafone Group Plc is a public limited company incorporated in England under
registered number 1833679. Its registered office is Vodafone House, The Connection,
Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 2FN, England.
Vodafone over the years
Vodafone was formed in 1984 as a subsidiary of Racal Electronics Plc. Then known as
Racal Telecom Limited, approximately 20% of the company's capital was offered to the
public in October 1988. It was fully demerged from Racal Electronics Plc and became an
independent company in September 1991, at which time it changed its name to Vodafone
Group Plc.
Following its merger with AirTouch Communications, Inc. (‘AirTouch’), we changed our
name to Vodafone AirTouch Plc on 29 June 1999 and, following approval by the
shareholders in General Meeting, reverted to our former name, Vodafone Group Plc, on
28 July 2000.
Key milestones in the development of Vodafone can be found in the following sections,
organised by year:
2007
Vodafone agrees to acquire Tele2 Italia SpA and Tele2 Telecommunication Services SLU
from Tele2 AB Group. (October)
Vodafone announces completion of the acquisition of Hutch Essar from Hutchison
Telecommunications International Limited. (May)
Safaricom, Vodafone’s partner in Kenya announces the launch of M-PESA, an innovative
new mobile payment solution that enables customers to complete simple financial
transactions by mobile phone. (February)
Vodafone agrees to buy a controlling interest in Hutchison Essar Limited, a leading
operator in the fast growing Indian mobile market, (February)
Vodafone announces agreements with both Microsoft and Yahoo! to bring seamless
Instant Messaging (IM) services to the mobile which can be accessed from both the PC
and mobile handsets. (February)
Vodafone signs a series of ground-breaking agreements which will lead to the mobilising
of the internet. YouTube agrees to offer Vodafone customers specially rendered YouTube
pages on their mobile phones. With Google, Vodafone announces its intention to develop
a location-based version of Google Maps for. With eBay, Vodafone announces it is to
offer the new eBay mobile service to customers, With MySpace.com Vodafone
announces an exclusive partnership to offer Vodafone customers a MySpace experience
via their mobile phones. (February).
Vodafone reaches 200 million customers (January)
2006
Sale of 25% stake in Switzerland's Swisscom (December)
Sale of 25% stake in Belgium's Proximus. (August)
The number of Vodafone live! customers with 3G reached 10 million in March 2006.
We acquired Telsim Mobil Telekomunikasyon Hizmetleri (Turkey) in May 2006.
Launch of mobile TV capability and Vodafone Radio DJ, which offers a personalised,
interactive radio service streamed to 3G phones and PCs.
3G broadband through HSDPA launched offering faster than 3G speeds.
Japan business sold to SoftBank.
‘Make the most of now’ global marketing campaign launched.
Sir John Bond succeeds Lord MacLaurin as Chairman.
2005
We completed the acquisition of MobiFon S.A. (Romania) and Oskar Mobile a.c. (Czech
Republic) (May).
Launch of Vodafone Simply, a new easy-to-use service for customers who want to use
voice and text services with minimum complexity (May).
Introduction of Vodafone Passport, a voice roaming price plan that provides customers
with greater price clarity when using mobile voice services abroad (May).
2004
We launched our first 3G service in Europe with Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS
data card.
We have 14 Partner Networks with new agreements in Cyprus, Hong Kong and
Luxembourg.
Vodafone live! with 3G launched in 13 markets (November).
2003
At the GSM Association Awards Ceremony in Cannes, France, we won the mobile
industry's most prestigious awards in two categories, Best Consumer Wireless
Application or Service and Best Television or Broadcast Commercial for its global
consumer service, Vodafone live! Our premium handset for Vodafone live!, the Sharp
GX10, won the Best Wireless Handset Award for the Sharp Corporation.
Vodafone live! attracts 1 million customers in its first six months.
Verizon Wireless and Vodafone co-operate on laptop e-mail, internet and corporate
applications access for the US and Europe.
Arun Sarin succeeds Sir Christopher Gent as Chief Executive.
2002
We trial our global mobile payment system in the UK, Italy and Germany. The trial
enables customers to purchase physical and digital goods using their mobile phone.
We launch the first commercial European GPRS roaming service. Customers are able to
seamlessly access services such as corporate e-mail, intranet and personalised
information on their mobile phones, laptops or PDAs over GPRS.
The Vodafone Group Foundation is launched, with plans to contribute £20 million to
community programmes, guided by the Group Social Investment Policy.
In October, we announce the launch of Vodafone live!, a new consumer proposition, and
Mobile Office, a new business proposition. In November, Vodafone Remote Access is
launched as part of Mobile Office. The service gives business customers an easy way to
connect to their corporate LAN to access e-mail, calendar and other business specific
applications whilst on the move.
2001
We acquire Ireland's leading mobile communications company, Eircell.
Vodafone and China Mobile (Hong Kong) ltd (CHMK) sign a 'strategic alliance
agreement'.
The Group completes the acquisition of a 25% stake in Swisscom Mobile.
We introduce instant messaging to our networks, a faster and more efficient way to
communicate using text messages via SMS or WAP.
First global communications campaign launched in August. The campaign features TV,
cinema, print, online and outdoor media, each version asking the question, 'How are
you?'.
First Vodafone Partner Agreement with TDC Mobil A/S, Denmark's leading mobile
operator. The agreement is the first of its kind in the mobile industry and means Vodafone
and TDC Mobil will cooperate in developing, marketing and advertising international
roaming products and services to international travellers and corporate customers.
We make the word's first 3G roaming call (between Spain and Japan).
2000
On 4 February, terms are agreed with the Supervisory Board of Mannesmann by which
Mannesmann would become a part of the Vodafone community. The transaction almost
doubles the size of the Vodafone Group.
The agreement to acquire Mannesmann AG receives European Commission clearance on
12 April 2000.
Verizon Wireless is launched in May, the combination of Vodafone AirTouch's and Bell
Atlantic's US cellular, PCS and paging assets.
Annual Report
more>
/start/investor_relations/financial_reports/annual_reports.html
Sir John Bond became Chairman of Vodafone Group Plc on 25 July 2006 having
previously served as a Non-Executive Director.
He is also a non-executive director of Ford Motor company.
Previously he was Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings plc until May 2006, when he
stepped down after a 45 year career with HSBC. Sir John joined The Hongkong and
Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited in 1961 and worked in Asia for 25 years and the
USA for four years, before coming to London in 1993. He became Group Chief
Executive of HSBC Holdings on 1 January 1993 when HSBC merged with Midland
Bank plc, and became Group Chairman on 29 May 1998.
His previous appointments include non-executive director of London Stock Exchange
from 1994 to 1999, British Steel from 1994 to 1998 and Orange from 1996 to 1999; he
was also on the Court of the Bank of England from 2001 to 2004. He was Chairman of
the Institute of International Finance, Washington DC (an organisation of over 300 banks)
from 1998 to 2003 and was elected President of the International Monetary Conference
(IMC) in June 2002.
Following his education in the UK, Sir John held an English-Speaking Union Scholarship
in the USA from 1959 to 1960; from November 1997 to December 2003 he was a
Governor of the English-Speaking Union. He was elected a Fellow of the Chartered
Institute of Bankers in 1983.
His Knighthood was conferred for services to banking in the Queen's Birthday Honours
in 1999. In 2003 Sir John was awarded both the Magnolia Gold Award by the Shanghai
Municipal People's Government and the Foreign Policy Association, New York's Gold
Medal.
Married with two daughters and a son, his interests include skiing, golf and reading
biographies.
Business Principles
Our Vision and Values guide the way we act. Our Vision is to be the world’s mobile
communication leader – enriching customers’ lives, helping individuals, businesses and
communities be more connected in a mobile world. Our Values are about how we feel –
in other words the Passions that make us the company we are.
One of our four corporate Values is 'Passion for the world around us':
"We will help the people of the world to have fuller lives - both through the services we
provide and through the impact we have on the world around us."
At the start of 2002, we introduced a set of ten Business Principles to make our Vision
and Values happen. These define our relationships with all our stakeholders and govern
how Vodafone conducts its day-to-day business.
Our Business Principles apply to all Vodafone operating companies (majority owned
businesses). We also promote the Principles to our associate companies (where Vodafone
holds a minority stake) and business partners. Chief Executives are responsible for
ensuring application of the Principles within their business.
Every employee is expected to act in accordance with the Business Principles. If
employees have concerns about the application of the Principles, they can ask their local
human resources managers for further advice, or contact the Group Human Resources
Director or the Group Audit Director. We are incorporating training on our business
principles into our employee induction process.
Internal audits in 2002-03 show they have been communicated to over 90% of
employees.
Read the Business Principles Policy in full in the Corporate Responsibility section.
Mobile marketing a key development,
says Vodafone chief
Monday, 19 Nov 2007 09:40 Marketing products to consumers via their mobile handsets
is set to be a key area of industry development, according to the Vodafone CEO.
Arun Sarin said that mobile internet is a rapidly developing area and one that will form an
important component of Vodafone's development.
And when it comes to competitor products such as Apple's iPhone, Skype's new mobile
and Google's open operating mobile search system Android, Vodafone maintains a
distinct advantage, he claimed.
Mr Sarin told the FT: "The simple fact that we have the customer and billing relationship
is a hugely powerful thing that nobody can take away from us."
Mobile marketing campaigns will be assisted by Vodafone's knowledge of its customers'
location - a key benefit in successful targeted mobile search.
Mr Sarin said that Vodafone's involvement in wireless internet also puts it as an industry
frontrunner, adding "whoever comes into the marketplace is going to have to work
through us".
Vodafone's results, which were released last week, saw group revenue up by nine per cent
to £17 billion with a pronounced increase in customers using data functions like web-
surfing.
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.[5] Racal Strategic Radio was
renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985.[4] On 29 December 1986
Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB£110
million.[6]
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.[7] On 16 September 1991 Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal
Electronics as Vodafone Group.[8]
In July 1996 Vodafone acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already own for
£30.6 million.[9] 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.[10] In a similar move the company acquired the 80% of Astec
Communications that it did not own, a service provider with 21 stores.[11]
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.[12] To approve the merger, Vodafone sold its 17.2% stake
in E-Plus Mobilefunk.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[16] 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.
/wiki/Image:Vodafone.Iasi-Romania.JPGFPRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT=Vodafone in I"
/wiki/Image:Vodafone.Iasi-Romania.JPG
/wiki/Image:Vodafone.Iasi-Romania.JPGVodafone in Iaşi, Romania.
/wiki/Image:Map_Vodafone.png
/wiki/Image:Map_Vodafone.pngA 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. [4]
•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.
•2006 : Rebrands Stoke-on-Trent site to be known 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 are dealt
with by this call centre.
•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.
•24 July 2006: Respected head of Vodaphone Europe, Bill Morrow, quits
unexpectedly.[17]
•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.
•December 2006: Completes the acquisition of Aspective, an enterprise applications
systems integrator in the UK, signaling Vodafone's intent to grow a significiant
presence and revenues in the ICT marketplace.
•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.
•1 May 2007: adds Jersey and Guernsey to the community, as Airtel is signed as
Partner Network in both crown dependencies
•07 June 2007: Vodafone live! launches cheaper mobile Internet portal in the UK [18]
and becomes the first mobile network to focus an entire media campaign on their
newly launched mobile Internet portal in the UK.
[edi
Board of Directors
SKSE Securities Ltd
Shri. Ashok H. Koyani - Chief Executive Officer - Officiating
Shri. M. P. Doshi - Broker Director
Shri. N. M. Jadeja - Broker Director
Shri. R. M. Parekh - Broker Director
/start/investor_relations/vodafone_at_a_glance0/global_footprint.html
Shri. S. C. Shah - Broker Director
Shri. V. P. Vaishnav - Broker Director
Charges :
Dr. Alokkumar Chakrawal - Public Representative Director
Shri. A. H. Trivedi - Public Representative Director
Shri. G. L. Ramani - Public Representative Director
Shri. P. R. Dholakia - Public Representative Director
Shri. R. V. Somaiya - Public Representative Director
The Cost of trading will be as follows :
• BROKERAGE @ Rs. 0.0075% of the transaction value
(minimum Rs 0.01 per trade)
Further the registered Member shall be required to pay the following
charges on actual basis from time to time as may be applicable.
• SEBI Turnover fees (0.01% or as may be specified by SEBI from
time to time)
• Stamp Duty charges 0.01%
• BSE/NSE transaction charges on actual.
• Service Tax @ as may be applicable from time to time on the
amount of brokerage charged.
Above charges will be debited in the Settlement Bill. Members will have
to also bear connectivity charges of respective Stock Exchanges on actual
basis and any other statutory charges that may be levied on to the
company by competent authority from time to time will have to be borne
by the members on actual/cost sharing basis
.
