Less than thirty years ago, the Vodafone network in Britain carried its first mobile call. Now the firm has a tentacle in almost every country, and is worth more than £100 billion, with more than 450 million subscribers.
Its first call was made by comedian Ernie Wise, and now the company has co-opted a character from Star Wars to carry its standard. It’s got a global position and is juggling subsidiaries with a view to making a bigger empire.
Vodafone’s strength has been in mobile, but recent moves suggest it is planning to build a fixed line empire in order to have multiple-play offerings for customers. It’s sold a big stake in the US provider Verizon, and has plenty of cash to build the components to make any kind of company it wants.
So now is the time to look back. What has Vodafone been doing over the last few years, and how has it changed? What were they milestones along the way?
You’ll find an intriguing story behind an iconic brand, if you…
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