The name Vodafone comes from voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect

the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones".[10]

Vodafone' brand started in 1982 with the establishment of 'Racal Strategic Radio
Ltd' subsidiary of Racal Electronics plc UK's largest maker of military radio t
echnology. By initiative of Jan Stenbeck[11] Racal Strategic Radio Ltd formed a
joint venture with Millicom called 'Racal Vodafone', which would later evolve in
to the present day Vodafone.[12][13][14]On 16 September 1991, Racal Telecom was
demerged from Racal Electronics as Vodafone Group,[22] with Gerry Whent as its C
EO.
On 29 June 1999, Vodafone completed its purchase of AirTouch Communications, Inc
. and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch plc.28 July 2000, the Company revert
ed to its former name, Vodafone Group plc.Vodafone Global Enterprise is the busi
ness services division, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone Group. It was
established in April 2007 to provide telecommunications and information technolo
gy services to large corporations.[56][57][58]
It offers integrated communication solutions in cloud computing, unified communi
cations and collaboration.[56][57] Its services include domestic and internation
al voice and data, Machine to Machine services, mobile email, mobile broadband,
managed services, mobile payment and mobile recording.[59]
In December 2011, it acquired the Reading-based Bluefish Communications Ltd an I
CT consultancy company.[60] The acquired operations will form the nucleus of a n
ew Unified Communications and Collaboration practice within VGE,[36] which will
focus on implementing strategies and solutions in cloud computing, and strengthe
n its professional services offering.[61]
It operates in over 65 countries, operated by its "Northern Europe" (based in Lo
ndon, United Kingdom), "Central Europe", "Southern Europe and Africa", "Asia Pac
ific & Sub-Saharan Africa" (based in Singapore) and "Americas" geographical divi
sions.[62] VGE's major customers include Deutsche Post,[63] The Linde Group,[64]
Unilever,[65] and Volkswagen Group.[66]
Products and services [edit]

A Vodafone shop selling a range of products in Leeds.

Products promoted by the Group include Vodafone live!, Vodafone Mobile Connect U
SB Modem, Vodafone Connect to Friends, Vodafone Eurotraveller, Vodafone Freedom
Packs, Vodafone at Home, Vodafone 710 and Amobee Media Systems.
In October 2009, it launched Vodafone 360, a new internet service for the mobile
, PC and Mac. This was discontinued in December 2011 after disappointing hardwar
e sales.[67] This was after The Director of Internet Services resigned in Septem
ber 2010 tweeting "5 days before I leave Vodafone. Freedom beckons."[68] In Febr
uary 2010, Vodafone launched world's cheapest mobile phone known as Vodafone 150
, will sell for below $15 (10) and is aimed at the developing world. It will init
ially be launched in India, Turkey and eight African countries including Lesotho
, Kenya and Ghana.[69]
Mobile money transfer services [edit]
In March 2007, Safaricom, which is part owned by Vodafone and the leading mobile
communication provider in Kenya, launched a mobile payment solution developed b
y Vodafone.[70] M-PESA is aimed at mobile customers who do not have a bank accou
nt, typically because they do not have access to a bank or their income is insuf
ficient to justify a bank account. The M-PESA system allows customers to deposit
and withdraw cash via local agents, and transfer money to other mobile phone us
ers via SMS.
By February 2008, the M-PESA money transfer system in Kenya had gained 1.6 milli
on customers.[71] By 2011 there were fourteen million M-Pesa accounts by which h
eld 40 percent of the country s savings.[72] Following M-PESA s success in Kenya, Vo
dafone announced that it was to extend the service to Afghanistan.[73] The servi
ce here was launched on the Roshan network under the brand M-Paisa with a differ
ent focus to the Kenyan service. M-Paisa was targeted as a vehicle for microfina
nce institutions' (MFI) loan disbursements and repayments, alongside business to
 business applications such as salary disbursement. The Afghanistan launch was f
ollowed in April 2008 by the announcement of further a further launch of M-PESA
in Tanzania, South Africa[74] and India.[75]
In February 2012, Vodafone announced a worldwide partnership with Visa.[76] To i
ntroduce a Vodafone Mobile Wallet, initially in Germany, The Netherlands, Spain,
Turkey and the UK. "The Vodafone mobile wallet represents the next stage of the
smartphone revolution," says Vittorio Colao, Vodafone's group CEO. This will en
able Vodafone subscribers to pay for goods and services using their mobile phone
s instead of coins and banknotes.
mHealth services [edit]
In November 2009, Vodafone announced the creation of a new business unit focused
on the emerging mHealth market (the application of mobile communications and ne
twork technologies to healthcare).[77] One of its early success stories is with
the Novartis-led "SMS for Life" project in Tanzania, for which Vodafone develope
d and deployed a text-message based system that enables all of the country s 4,600
public health facilities to report their levels of anti-malarial medications so
that stock level data can be viewed centrally in real-time, enabling timely re-
supply of stock. During the SMS for Life pilot, which covered 129 health facilit
ies over six months, stock-outs dropped from 26% to 0.8%, saving thousands of li
ves.[78]
Vodafone has also been active in mHealth from a philanthropic perspective. The V
odafone Group Foundation is a founder member of the mHealth Alliance, supporting
the adoption of mHealth through policy research and advocacy and the developmen
t of interoperable and sustainable mHealth solutions.[79]
Vodafone Foundation [edit]
The Vodafone Foundation is a recognised charity which supports and initiates pro
jects which use mobile technology to benefit the vulnerable. It is described by
Vodafone as Mobile for Good ; using mobile technology to support good causes. They
often work in collaboration with other charitable groups. Below are some example
s of their initiatives:
TECSOS mobile phones have been adapted to allow victims of domestic violence to
activate immediate contact with the emergency services if they are in danger
Paediatric Epilepsy Remote Monitoring System a monitoring system that allows phy
sicians to remotely make patient observations
Safe Taxi System an initiative in Portugal that consists of technology that taxi
drivers can use to alert police if they are in danger of being assaulted
Learning with Vodafone Solution technology that allows teachers in India to use
graphical and multi-media content to enhance their teaching
Corporate affairs [edit]

Part of the Vodafone campus in Newbury, Berkshire; Vodafone's registered address

and UK headquarters, and its world headquarters until 2009
Senior management [edit]
In a period just short of twenty years from its initial public offering, the Com
pany had had just three Chief Executives. The fourth CEO, Vittorio Colao, steppe
d up from Deputy Chief Executive in July 2008. Each of his predecessors made a p
ersonal contribution to the development of the Company.
Sir Gerald Whent, at that time an Executive with Racal Electronics plc, was resp
onsible for the bid for a UK Cellular Network licence. The Mobile Telecoms divis
ion was de-merged, and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in October 1988
and Sir Gerald became Chief Executive of Racal Telecom plc. Over the next few ye
ars the company grew to become the UK's Market Leader, changing its name to Voda
fone Group plc in the process.
Sir Christopher Gent took over as Chief Executive in January 1997, after Sir Ger
ald's retirement. Sir Christopher was responsible for transforming Vodafone from
a small UK operator into the global behemoth that it is today, through the merg
er with the American AirTouch and the takeover of Germany's Mannesmann, the Gold
man Sachs chief advisor on the deal was Scott Mead.
Arun Sarin was the driving force behind the Company's move into emerging markets
such as Asia and Africa, through the purchases such as that of Turkish operator
Telsim, and a majority stake in Hutchison Essar in India. Faced with increased
competition, and penetration rates above 100% in the more mature European market
s, he saw it necessary to diversify from being a mobile-only business into a com
pany which provided all telecommunications services. This has seen Vodafone laun
ch DSL and other fixed-line services in markets such as Germany and the UK.
Chief Executive Tenure
Sir Gerald Whent October 1988 December 1996
Sir Christopher Gent January 1997 July 2003
Arun Sarin July 2003 July 2008
Vittorio Colao Since July 2008
Financial results [edit]
Vodafone reports its results in accordance with International Financial Reportin
g Standards (IFRS).
Vodafone has some large minority stakes, which are not included in its consolida
ted turnover. In order to provide additional information on the overall scale an
d growth trends of its business, it publishes "proportionate turnover" figures,
and these are included in the tables below. For example, if a business in which
it owns a 45% stake has turnover of 10 billion, that equals 4.5 billion of proport
ionate turnover for Vodafone. Proportionate turnover is not an official accounti
ng measure, and Vodafone's proportionate turnover should not be compared with ot
her companies' statutory turnover.
Vodafone also produces proportionate customer number figures on a similar basis,
e.g. if an operator in which it has a 30% stake has 10 million customers that e
quals 3 million proportionate Vodafone customers.
Year ended 31 March Turnover m Profit before tax m Profit for the y
ear m Basic eps (pence) Proportionate customers (m)
2012 46,417 9,549 7,003 13.74 446.5
2011 45,884 9,498 7,870 15.20 347.7
2010 44,472 8,674 8,618 16.44 341.1
2009 41,017 4,189 3,080 5.81 302.6
2008 35,478 9,001 6,756 12.56 260
2007 31,104 (2,383) (5,297) (8.94) 206.4
2006* 29,350 (14,835) (21,821) (35.01) 170.6
2005 34,073 7,951 6,518 9.68 154.8
2004 36,492 9,013 6,112 8.70 133.4
*Losses for year to 31 March 2006 reflect write downs of assets, principally in
relation to the Mannesmann acquisition. Proportionate turnover includes 7,100 mil
lion from discontinued operations.
Criticisms [edit]

UK Uncut protestors outside a Vodafone shop in Liverpool.

In September 2010, an investigation by Private Eye magazine revealed certain det
ails of Vodafone's tax avoidance activities. It was reported that Vodafone route
d the acquisition of Mannesmann through a Luxembourg subsidiary, set up to avoid
paying tax on the deal, and continued to place its profits in Luxembourg. Follo
wing a long legal struggle with HMRC (during which a senior HMRC official, John
Connors, switched sides to become head of tax at Vodafone), it was eventually ag
reed that Vodafone would pay 1.25 billion related to the acquisition. Based on Vo
dafone's accounts, experts have estimated the potential tax bill written off as
a result of the negotiations was over 6 billion.[80]
The news of this legal tax avoidance sparked angry protests, beginning in Octobe
r 2010 and ongoing as of April 2011, outside Vodafone shops across the UK, organ
ised under the banner of UK Uncut. The first protests caused the simultaneous cl
osure of over a dozen stores, including the flagship Oxford Street branch.[80]
In 2011, Private Eye magazine and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism alleged
that Vodafone's Swiss branches were run by a single part-time bookkeeper. The r
eport claimed hardly any business was done from there, indicating that the main
purpose of the Zug office was tax avoidance. The report claimed the money was bo
rrowed from the Swiss branch of the Luxembourg company, allowing it to take adva
ntage of Luxembourg s laws, which exempts foreign branches of companies from tax,
and Swiss laws, which almost completely exempt local branches of foreign compani
es. According to the expose, this would have otherwise generated a British tax b
ill on a little over 2 billion. It said Vodafone publishes a single, combined set
of accounts for its Luxembourg subsidiaries and their Swiss branches. For the o
ne company, profits worth 1.6 billion were taxed at less than one per cent in 201
1, and the profits are likely to have been attributed to Switzerland. In its res
ponse to these allegations, Vodafone has said the Swiss branch has not been invo
lved in Vodafone s global financing for a number of years. It is, therefore, irrel
evant in respect to global financing arrangements.[81]
Vodafone was also assessed a US$2.5 billion tax over its acquisition of Hutchiso
n Whampoa's Indian assets in 2007, a demand that it contests. In a recent event
dated 20 January 2012, Indian highest court ruled that Vodafone is not liable fo
r taxes and penalties of up to $4.4 billion (2.8 billion).[82][83]
Vodafone was implicated in the violent suppression of pro-democracy protests in
Egypt's 2011 demonstrations. On 27 January, Vodafone, responsible for much of Eg
ypt's telecommunication infrastructure, shut off all voice and data services for
Egyptian citizens and businesses at the request of the Egyptian Government unde
r Hosni Mubarak.[84] The Daily Telegraph of the UK reported, "The Egyptian gover
nment s action is unprecedented in the history of the internet."[85] U.S.-based In
ternet intelligence firm Renesys stated, "in an action unprecedented in Internet
history, the Egyptian government appears to have ordered service providers to s
hut down all international connections to the Internet."[86] Vodafone Group CEO
Vittorio Colao said the company was obliged by law to comply with the instructio
ns of the Egyptian government.[87] In the company s annual general meeting, on 26
June, the campaign groups Access and FairPensions asked Vodafone to endorse a pl
an to prevent facing similar demands in the future.[88][89]
In Australia, particularly towards the end of 2010, Vodafone have been heavily c
riticised due to allegations of poor customer service and severe technical inade
quacies, which earned them their nickname "Vodafail" a website of the same name
still exists.[90] In response, they have developed a "new" network, and now prov
ide a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.[91]
Type Private
Industry Telecommunications
Predecessor(s) Hutchison Essar
Founded 1994
Headquarters Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Products Mobile telephony
Wireless broadband services
Owner(s)
Takshi Group
Vodafone Group
Parent Vodafone International Holdings BV (VIH)
Website www.vodafone.in
www.vodafone.com
Vodafone India , formerly Vodafone Essar and Hutchison Essar, is the second larg
est mobile network operator in India after Airtel by subscriber base. It is base
d in Mumbai, Maharashtra.[1] It has approximately 147.48 million customers as of
December 2012.
On July 2011, Vodafone Group agreed terms for the buy-out of its partner Essar f
rom its Indian mobile phone business. The UK firm paid $5.46 billion to its Indi
an counterpart to take Essar out of its 33% stake in the Indian subsidiary. It w
ill leave Vodafone owning 74% of the Indian business, while the other 26% will b
e owned by Indian investors, in compliance with Indian law.
Meaning of Commerce
Commerce is a branch of business. It is concerned with the exchange of goods and
services. It includes all those activities, which directly or indirectly facili
tate that exchange.
Image Credits Senator Mark Begich.
Commerce looks after the distribution aspect of the business. Whatever is produc
ed it must be consumed, to facilitate this consumption there must be a proper di
stribution channel. Here comes the need for commerce which is concerned with the
smooth buying and selling of goods and services.
Definition of Commerce
According to James Stephenson,
"Commerce is an organized system for the exchange of goods between the members o
f the industrial world."
In a broader sense,
"Commerce is that part of business which is concerned with the exchange of goods
and services and includes all those activities which directly or indirectly fac
ilitate that exchange."
Importance of Commerce
The importance of trade and commerce are mentioned in following points :-
1. Commerce tries to satisfy increasing human wants
Human wants are never ending. They can be classified as 'Basic wants' and 'Secon
dary wants'. Commerce has made distribution and movement of goods possible from
one part of the world to the other. Today we can buy anything produced anywhere
in the world. This has in turn enabled man to satisfy his innumerable wants and
thereby promoting social welfare.
2. Commerce helps to increase our standard of living
Standard of living refers to quality of life enjoyed by the members of a society
. When man consumes more products his standard of living improves. To consume a
variety of goods he must be able to secure them first. Commerce helps us to get
what we want at right time, right place and at right price and thus helps in imp
roving our standard of living.
3. Commerce links producers and consumers
Production is meant for ultimate consumption. Commerce makes possible to link pr
oducers and consumers through retailers and wholesalers and also through the aid
s to trade. Consumers get information about different goods through advertisemen
ts and salesmanship. The manufacturers are regularly informed about the likes an
d dislikes of the consumers through marketing research. Thus commerce creates co
ntact between the centers of production and consumption and links them.
4. Commerce generates employment opportunities
The growth of commerce, industry and trade bring about the growth of agencies of
trade such as banking, transport, warehousing, advertising, etc. These agencies
need people to look after their functioning. Increase in production results in
increasing demand, which further results in boosting employment opportunities. T
hus development of commerce generates more and more employment opportunities for
millions of people in a country.
5. Commerce increases national income and wealth
When production increases, national income also increases. In a developed countr
y, manufacturing industries and commerce together accounts for nearly 80% of tot
al national income. It also helps to earn foreign exchange by way of exports and
duties levied on imports. Thus, commerce increases the national income and weal
th of a nation.
6. Commerce helps in expansion of aids to trade
With the growth in trade and commerce there is growing need for expansion and mo
dernization of aids to trade. Aids to trade such as banking, communication, adve
rtising and publicity, transport, insurance, etc., are expanded and modernised f
or the smooth conduct of commerce.
7. Commerce helps in growth of industrial development
Commerce looks after the smooth distribution of goods and services made availabl
e by the industry. Without commerce, industry will find it difficult to keep the
pace of production. It helps to increase demand for goods on one hand and on th
e other hand it helps industries by getting them the necessary raw materials and
other services. Hence, commerce helps in attaining better division of labour an
d industrial progress.
8. Commerce encourages international trade
Through commerce we can secure a fair and equitable distribution of goods throug
hout the world. With the help of transport and communication development, countr
ies can exchange their surplus commodities and earn foreign exchange, which is v
ery useful for importing machinery and sophisticated technology. It ensures fast
er economic growth of the country.
9. Commerce benefits underdeveloped countries
Underdeveloped countries can import skilled labour and technical know-how from d
eveloped countries. While the advance countries can import raw materials from un
derdeveloped countries. This helps in laying down the seeds of industrialization
in the underdeveloped countries.
10. Commerce helps during emergencies
During emergencies like floods, earthquakes and wars, commerce helps in reaching
the essential requirements like foodstuff, medicines and relief measures to the
affected areas.