Vodafone Group Plc The evolution of 'Vodafone' brand started in 1982 with the establishment of 'Racal Strategic Radio

o Ltd' subsidiary of Racal Electronics plc UK's largest maker of military radio technology. By initiative of Jan Stenbeck Racal Strategic Radio Ltd formed a joint venture with Millicom called 'Racal Vodafone', which would later evolve into the present day Vodafone.

One of the world's largest mobile companies providing a wide range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed broadband. Why called VODAFONE ? VO represented voice and DA would symbolize data, hence Vodafone. Over 407 million customers, Employed over 86,000 people Operate in over 30 countries across five continents. Over 243,000 base stations. The Groups operations are split into three geographic regions Northern & Central Europe, Southern Europe and Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific (AMAP)

The Group is listed on the London and NASDAQ (ADR listing) stock exchanges and is headquartered in Paddington, London Have a 45% share in Verizon Wireless in the United States.

Gerard Kleisterlee Chairman

 Vittorio Colao Chief Executive

Vodafone identifies six key strategies to sum up their continued success. Vodafone's

Success Strategy: 1. Provide superior shareholder returns 2. Delight our customers 3. Leverage global scale and scope 4. Expand market boundaries 5. Build the best global Vodafone team 6. Be a responsible business

History:

1982: As Racal Telecomm, awarded the first mobile license in the UK 1985: First mobile analogue call in the UK 1987: Launched Vodapage, a paging network covering 80% of the country 1988: Listed on the stock exchange 1991: Separated from Racal Electronics and since then quoted as Vodafone

1993: Introduction of digital mobile services in the UK and first international partnerships (Germany and South Africa) 1999: Merged with AirTouch Communications, producing a new company, Vodafone Airtouch plc 2000: Began operating as the Vodafone group Plc 2000: Acquired Mannesmann AG and established Verizon Wireless (grouping the mobile activities of Bell Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch in the USA) 2002: Introduced Vodafone Live! 2004: Commercially launched its 3G services in Europe 2005: Launched fixed mobile convergence product in Germany called Zuhause 2006: Sold its Japanese unit to Softbank and Swedish unit to Telenor 2007: Acquired controlling interest Hutchison Essar Limited in India; acquired Tele2 fixed line operations in Italy and Spain

International: EMAPA includes operations in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Pacific as well as Groups associates and investments; accounts for 21% of group revenues with 27% average mobile customer penetration Continue to expand in emerging markets; expected to account for 70% of Groups customer growth in the next 5 years; invest in territories with low mobile

handset penetration and rising GNP per capita (e.g. acquired Essar in India with 14% penetration)

Then the horizon broadened for Vodafone. It moved beyond the UK in the 1990s. By 1993 it had interests in mobile phone networks in Australia, Greece, Hong Kong, Malta, and Scandinavia. Their strategy was to acquire competitors in order to knock out competition and become more competitive than it's rivals. Vodafone remained committed to establishing the world first global telecommunication network. By 1994, Vodafone began it's implementing strategic multinational activity to spur growth though acquisitions. "With increasing competition at home, Vodafone continued to expand in 1994. It launched or bought stakes in operations in Fiji, Germany, South Africa, and Uganda." Two of the most landmark acquisitions that were those of D2 (Mannesmann; Germany) and Airtouch (US) 1999. D2 was one of the leading telecommunications providers in Germany, operating under Mannesmann. The Mannessman takeover was hostile, and the first of it's kind in Europe; this was the largest "uwanted" acquisition of it's time (Jones). The transaction was valued at $180 billion dollars. The second acquisition was that of AirTouch communications in the United States. Now Vodafone AirTouch, this acquisition gave Vodafone entry into the US market, and the ability to consolidate minority interest in European carriers. This acquisition was valuesd at $60 billion dollars. From this acquisition, and the acquisition of Commnet Cellular (in 2000 for 1.4 billion), Verizon Wireless was formed. Oddly enough, the history between Verizon and Vodafone isn't all honky dory. Ivan Seidenberg, now CEO of Verizon Communications and then head of Verizon predecessor Bell Atlantic Corp., was on the verge of acquiring wireless carrier AirTouch Communications Inc. (made up largely of the former wireless operations of Pacific Telesis Group and U S West Inc). But an AirTouch official broke the news: "Vodafone, then a little- known British company, had topped the bid." Currently, Vodafone own 45% minority stake in Verizon wireless. Subsequently, Airtouch was dropped from it's name, and renamed Vodafone Group Plc. These aquisitons were landmark in Vodafone history, they marked crucial turning points in establish itself as global market leader in GSM telecommunications. Vodafone's strength as a MNE can definitely be witnessed through their European operations. It owns stakes and has acquired dozens of telecommunication operators through out Europe. The most groundbreaking takeover has definitely been the case of

Mannessman in 2000. Hostile takeovers remained rare in continental Europe and Japan. The Mannessman takeover was the first large scale hostile takeover by a foreign firm in Germany. Currently, Net customer additions of 843,000 demonstrated continued strong growth in Germany and resulted in a closing base of 26.9 million customers at the end of the last quarter in 2004. The Germany case of Mannessman got the ball rolling for Vodafone's acquisition strategy. After acquiring Mannessman, for and estimated $180 billion in stock, the number one mobile carrier in Germany, Vodafone sought to acquire other telecommunications carriers that could add value and promote growth for their global GSM network. For instance, the acquisition of Omnitel, the second largest mobile carrier in Italy, was another key acquisition in expanding the GSM network Vodafone sought to create. Moreover, net customer additions were 359,000 in the last of quarter of 2004, lead to a total proportionate customer base of over 17 million. In addition, service revenue for the quarter increased 8% compared to the same period last year. In Spain, Vodafone bought it's rival BT Group's Airtel interests in it's Spanish affiliate. Formerly Airtel Mvil, the company is controlled by Vodafone Group, which in 2003 acquired the 6% it did not already own and began marketing the company as Vodafone Spain. It began offering wireless services over its GSM (global system for mobile

communications) network in 1995, winning a mobile license in Spain's second auction . Vodafone Spain added 457,000 net customers in the last quarter of 2004, bringing the total customer base to 10.9 million customers, an increase of over 12% on last year. In addition, Vodafone has a strong presence in Portugal. Vodafone Portugal, Comunicaes Pessoais (formerly known as Telecel) is the #2 wireless

telecommunications provider in Portugal. It gained entrance to the Portuguese market after acquiring Telecel. Furthermore, in 2001, Vodafone completed a deal to acquire Ericell in Ireland, which is now Vodafone Ireland. Moreover, Vodafone just finished completing a deal with Telesystem International Wireless to gain entrance into the markets of the Czech Republic and Romania, pushing the Vodafone GSM network eastward. Conclusion: so where does the future lie?

Vodafone is currently working on expanding it's 3G live, the newest version of their GSM network, to all of their current markets. Already enacted in 13 European markets, the goal is to go globally within the next few years as promptly as possible. New entrants to its markets threaten Vodafone's earnings. Consequently, Vodafone places high priorities on being innovative. Exploiting their position as a global leader allows them to remain competitive in all the markets it conduct business due to the overwhelming reach of their networks, a truly appealing characteristic to customers who are constantly traveling. Moreover with the launch of its new 3G technology, Vodafone must master the transition flawlessly in order to maintain their top ranking among service providers. They also have the benefit of exploiting their economy of scale and scope as the diversify technology and production across markets and industry lines. Vodafone has grown primarily through acquisitions, and their participation of Greenfield investments is practically non existent if you exclude it's initial bid for it's UK wireless license when it was still Racal. The strategic alliances that Vodafone has participated in tell a story of true innovation and cooperation to compliment their aggressive strategy of competitor acquisition. Vodafone has consistently demonstrated a storyline of growth through acquisitions, entering in markets in Eastern Europe, Asia, and South Pacific. Currently Vodafone owns stakes in wireless carriers in Albania, Australia, Belgium, China, Egypt, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US. Examining a list of affiliates and subsidiaries, Vodafone's strategy becomes very apparent. Currently major Vodafone affiliates range from various countries (see Tabel 1) and as long a markets promise profits and sustained growth, Vodafone will continue to actively engage in MNE activity to expand it's global telecommunications reach. Vodafone Announces New Organisational Structure 09 October 2010

Vodafone Group Plc ("Vodafone") today announces a new organisational structure which will enable continued improvement in the delivery of the Group's strategic goals. This structure will become effective as from 1 October 2010. The new organisation is designed to:

focus on Vodafones key commercial and financial priorities: customer and commercial strength, leadership in data, brand advocacy, cost efficiency and shareholder returns, and

simplify the Groups organisation, by reducing layers and simplifying managerial governance.

The main elements of the new organisational structure are:

accountability for the Groups operating companies will be brought into two operating regions, to reflect the different nature of assets/geographies and different development of the sector in various economies:
o

Europe: comprising all of the existing controlled businesses in Europe, plus the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Turkey. Michel Combes will continue to be the Regional CEO in charge of the Europe Region

Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific: comprising all emerging economies in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, plus Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. Nick Read will be the Regional CEO in charge of this Region

the Group CEO, CFO and Strategy & Business Development Director will be responsible for effecting strategies to maximize shareholder value from Vodafones investments: Verizon Wireless, SFR, Polkomtel and Bharti Holding, which will no longer be held within the regional structures.

Group Marketing, Vodafone Business Services, Vodafone Global Enterprise, Partner Markets, and other commercial units will be combined into a new organization, Group Commercial, which will be responsible for all commercial

activity. This unit will be headed by Morten Lundal as Group Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and he will report to the Group CEO.

all Technology functions in Vodafones operating companies will report into Group Technology. Steve Pusey, as Group CTO, will report directly to the Group CEO.

Vodafone will report on the basis of the new organisation structure for the second half of this financial year.

vodafone's international strategy

Albania Australia Czech Republic Egypt Germany Ghana Greece Hungary India Ireland Italy Malta Netherlands New Zealand Portugal Qatar Romania South Africa Spain Turkey United Kingdom