Everything You Never Knew You Needed to Know About Vodafone
Vodafone is a true British success story, with a 40+ year history and a solid position as one of the world’s largest and most successful mobile operators. Headquartered in the relatively humble surroundings of Newbury in Berkshire, the company has gone from strength to strength since its 1985 founding and is now a global operator, providing services in over 20 countries around the world.
Today, the telecommunications giant provides a range of services, from mobile voice and data coverage to fixed broadband, Internet of Things (IoT) support and solutions designed with huge companies in mind. Let’s take a look at how it all came about.
Vodafone Ireland mobile network named best in test for sixth year running
The History and Origin Story
Brand’s story begins in 1982, when the company was founded as a joint venture called Racal Vodafone with funding from Racal Electronics (80%), Millicom (15%) and Hambros (5%). The name comes from VO for voice, DA for data and FONE for phone.
Given that Racal is the primary shareholder, the easiest way to answer the question of what country is Vodafone from is to look at the fact that its parent company has been manufacturing electronics in England since 1950.
One of the most important parts of the company’s UK origin story is the fact that in 1985, it partnered with comedian Ernie Wise (of Morecambe and Wise fame), who made the first ever British phone call on New Year’s Day, January 1st.
Vodafone Ireland Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone Group, is a mobile phone network, broadband and TV provider in Ireland
In 1988, Racal floated 20% of the company’s shares on the London Stock Exchange, while Vodafone became fully independent in 1991. It continued to expand in the 1990s and in 2000, it acquired German company Mannesmann for €180 billion, which was the largest merger in history at the time.
The Structure of the Vodafone Group
To truly understand the Vodafone Group, you need to take a closer look at its structure. This can get a little complicated, so bear with us.
Vodafone Ireland | Happy Whatever
At present, Vodafone Group Plc is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange and on NASDAQ, and you can track its performance under the ticker symbol VOD. It’s currently headed by CEO Margherita della Valle and employs over 100,000 people throughout the world, with its global presence bringing in as much as £45 billion each year.
The company mostly focuses on key countries in Europe, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, with subsidiaries and partnerships in place to ensure they can serve over 20 countries. The company is still a leader in major markets like the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Egypt, but they’ve ceased operations in India, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Hungary, mostly due to selling up to consolidate on the regions they can serve best.
How Vodafone Ireland is Structured
We’ve covered the company’s structure elsewhere in the world, but how about Vodafone Ireland? Well, that’s an interesting question.
Vodafone Ireland offers a full range of contract (bill pay) and prepay services, including mobile telephony and mobile broadband
The telecoms giant’s entry into the Irish market came about in 2001, when they acquired the Irish state telecom mobile company Eircell for €4.5 billion, sixteen years after its 1985 inception. After this takeover, they rebranded into the company that we know today, and they’ve been one of the country’s largest mobile operators ever since, coming in second behind Three Ireland and fighting off competition from Eir Mobile and Virgin Media.
Today, the company promises 4G coverage for over 98% of the country’s population, with 5G coverage being rolled out across major cities like Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. They offer mobile voice and SMS services, 4G and 5G data, pre-paid and pay-as-you-go plans, home broadband, business solutions and more, as well as running over thirty retail stores throughout the country. It’s no surprise that they have over two million subscribers throughout the country.
The Company’s Products and Services
As we’ve already discussed, Vodafone offers a huge range of products and services, with specialist offerings that vary depending upon whether you’re a personal user or whether you’re using them for business. Either way, you’re going to be able to benefit from affordable voice call plans and SMS messaging, with Vodafone Passport making it easier for international travellers to avoid huge roaming costs.
Red Roaming | Vodafone Ireland
If it’s broadband that you’re looking for, the company has fibre and wireless options, with speeds of up to 1 Gbps. Their business solutions include cloud and hosting services, IoT (Internet of Things) connectivity, platforms and sensors and more. Business users can also benefit from the ability to use multiple devices with a single phone number.
The company is also known for its innovation when it comes to digital services and smart devices, with the V by Vodafone team working on everything from GPS trackers and dash cams to entertainment bundles, content partnerships and mobile payment solutions. Perhaps most importantly of all, they’re upgrading the network from 4G to 5G, as well as playing around with AI as a tool to further optimise their network.
Vodafone’s International Presence
The Vodafone Group has a global geographical footprint, and they have a presence in the following markets:
- Europe:UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Romania, Czech Republic, Greece, Albania
- Africa: South Africa, Tanzania, DRC, Mozambique, Lesotho
- Middle East: Turkey, Egypt
In Africa, they carry out their operations through Vodacom, while their presence in the Middle East is currently limited but has the potential to become something much bigger. They’ve also been present in various other locations, such as in the USA, India, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands.
They’ve been able to maintain this presence due to partnerships with operators in over 40 countries, with roaming agreements in place to make it easier for their customers to travel from one to another. It’s no surprise that they’re one of the top two operators in most European markets and in the top five in the world when it comes to revenue.
Their Reputation for Innovation
Vodafone has an impressive reputation for innovation which dates all the way back to that first mobile phone call in the 1980s. More recently, though, they’ve played an important role when it comes to the launch of 5G technology throughout the UK, which began in July 2019 and expanded to Europe and then Ireland in the years that followed.
The company is also investing heavily in new infrastructure, from rolling out fibre optic connectivity to using Open RAN, which aims to make it easier for different vendors to work together, ultimately passing on cost savings to the consumer. Then there’s its approach to the Internet of Things (IoT); Vodafone manages over 150 million IoT connected devices throughout the world and is instrumental in the development of new smart cities.
Other key innovations include the deployment of M-Pesa, a mobile money service that’s been launched in Africa to make it easier for people without access to traditional banking to manage their money.
FAQs About Vodafone
Exactly what country is Vodafone from?
Vodafone is a British company that was founded in England in 1982 and which has been headquartered in Newbury, Berkshire since day one. The UK telecoms company was originally a subsidiary of a company called Racal Electronics (with further investment from Millicom and Hambros), but the company became fully independent in 1991 after being spun off into Vodafone Group Plc.
Is Vodafone active in Ireland?
Yes, Vodafone Ireland has been around since 2001, even though their parent company is based across the Irish Sea. In fact, the company acquired Eircell, which was the country’s original state mobile operator, for €4.5 billion, and it’s now the second-largest mobile operator in Ireland. Its Ireland operations are a key part of their business, and they’re able to cover over 98% of the country’s population.
One of the Vodafone store in Ireland
What is Vodafone Group?
Vodafone Group Plc is the name of the telecoms provider’s parent company, which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. It owns and operates all of Vodafone’s subsidiaries in the 20+ countries they’re present in and employs over 100,000 people, with its headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire.
What products and services does Vodafone offer?
Vodafone is known for offering a wide range of products and services, including mobile voice and SMS packages, 4G and 5G coverage, international roaming as standard, and your choice of pre-paid or pay-as-you-go packages. Services vary by country, but many countries (including Ireland) can benefit from mobile, 5G and broadband packages, as well as a range of business solutions.
How large is Vodafone?
Vodafone Group is massive. They have over 300 million customers throughout the world, either directly or through one of their partner networks, and they operate in more than 60 countries either directly or through their partners. This huge global size has led to them bringing in more than £45 billion every year, allowing them to employ more than 100,000 people.
