"Vodafone's history is a story of innovation. Mobile technology has come a long way since Vodafone's early beginnings in 1982. At the time, it was science fiction to think that in a few years time a mobile phone would be in the hands of millions of people worldwide. Despite this, Vodafone, then a subsidiary of Racal Electronics bid for the private sector UK cellular licence. The Vodafone founders also had the foresight to realize that people would do more than talk over their phones and so created a future-proof name that would embrace both VOice and DAta mobile communication: Vodafone.

In 1985, Vodafone hosted the first ever mobile call in the UK - it has continued to innovate ever since. The mobile communications revolution is entering new and uncharted territory, but as bandwidth increases and applications proliferate the fundamental approach will remain the same. As the world enters a new, full colour, multimedia era, Vodafone will continue to invest, continue to innovate, and continue to exceed its customers expectations. "

"Vodafone is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world. It has interests in mobile networks in 28 countries across five continents. In September 2001, Vodafone had over 95 million proportionate customers worldwide. By market capitalization, Vodafone is the largest company in Europe, and is one of the ten largest companies in the world."

www.vodafone.com