Vodafone 2002 Annual Report Download - page 15

Information on the Company Vodafone Group Plc 13Annual Report & Accounts and Form 20-F
Notes:
(1) All ownership percentages are stated as at 31 March 2002 and exclude options, warrants or other rights or obligations of the Company to increase or decrease
ownership in any venture. Ownership interests have been rounded to the nearest tenth of one percent.
(2) Venture customer growth is for the twelve month period to 31 March 2002.
(3) Registered prepaid percentages are calculated on a total venture customer basis.
(4) Active customers are defined as customers who have made or received a chargeable event in the last three months or, where information is not available, defined
as customers who have made a chargeable event in the last three months (indicated by †).
(5) No customer activity information is presently available in Albania, where network services commenced in August 2001. Systems are being enabled to report
detailed customer activity in the near future.
(6) The Group’s ownership interest in Verizon Wireless is 45.0%. However, the Group’s proportionate customer base has been adjusted for Verizon Wireless’s
proportionate ownership of its customer base of approximately 98.3%. In the absence of acquired interests, this proportionate ownership will vary slightly each
period dependent on the underlying mix of net additions across each of these networks.
(7) Principally comprises China Mobile.
The reasons for the changes to the Company’s effective percentage ownership
interests in Germany, Hungary, Greece, Spain, Australia and Japan are
discussed in the description of each region’s business activities below,
or under “Information on the Company – History and Development of
the Company”above.
Northern Europe
The Group’s interests in Northern Europe comprise subsidiary undertakings in the
United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden and, from 14 May 2001, Ireland, and
associated undertakings in Belgium and France. Further details on the acquisition
of Eircell, the Group’s Irish subsidiary can be found under “Information on the
Company – History and Development of the Company – Acquisitions of
businesses”. The Group’s subsidiaries in Sweden and the Netherlands are listed
on public stock exchanges.
During 2002 the Group successfully rolled out its rebranding programme, as its
operations in Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden migrated to the single
Vodafone brand. These businesses formerly traded under the names of Eircell,
Libertel and Europolitan, respectively.
Below is a summary of the Group’s business activities in its major mobile
telecommunications markets in Northern Europe.
United Kingdom
Vodafone UK is one of four cellular network operators in the United Kingdom and,
according to the latest quarterly review of the UK telecommunications regulator
(“Oftel”), Vodafone UK is the largest in terms of mobile service revenue share,
with a share of 33%, a lead of 5.5% points over its nearest competitor.
At 31 March 2002, Vodafone UK had 13,186,000 registered customers, an
increase of 7% since 31 March 2001. Of the total registered customer base,
11% were inactive customers, the majority of whom were prepaid customers.
Strong growth in the contract customer base continued throughout the year, with
79% of net customer growth arising from contract customer connections, leading
to a registered contract customer base of 5,014,000 at 31 March 2002,
compared with 4,294,000 at 31 March 2001. Vodafone UK continued to focus
on high value customers in the corporate market. At 31 March 2002, Vodafone
UK’s in-house service provider companies accounted for 57% of the contract
customer base. The increase in contract customers reflects the increased focus
the Group is placing on gaining higher-value customers, as well as customer
retention initiatives.
Vodafone UK continually invests in its network infrastructure to improve network
quality and maintain its position as the leading network, in terms of customer
satisfaction. In a recent Oftel customer satisfaction survey, the Vodafone UK
network was rated number one, with a 95% level of customer satisfaction.
At 31 March 2002, Vodafone’s UK digital network consisted of 108 mobile
switching centres (“MSCs”), and 8,253 digital base stations in service, giving
declared coverage of 99%.
Vodafone ceased providing service on the analogue network on 1 June 2001,
pursuant to an agreement with the Department of Trade and Industry in the UK.
Vodafone UK has now been operating its nationwide GPRS network for over
twelve months, offering an enhanced range of products and services. GPRS
provides a range of services for business customers to enable access to
corporate systems such as e-mail and their company intranet. More generic
services allowing access to the internet from either the handset or through a
Personal Digital Assistant, or (“PDA”), or laptop computer enable all customers to
gain access to the internet at speeds which are typically faster than standard
home or office telephone lines. In the future, Vodafone UK intends to offer
additional services such as multimedia messaging – a service which will allow
users to send and receive graphics and pictures.
Vodafone UK was awarded one of the five 3G licences in the auction conducted
by the UK government in April 2000. Vodafone UK plans to open its 3G network
for service later in 2002.
Ireland
Eircell was acquired by the Company on 14 May 2001 and was subsequently
rebranded as Vodafone Ireland. Vodafone Ireland is the leading provider of mobile
telecommunications services in Ireland, with 1,704,000 registered customers
at 31 March 2002, and a market share of 56%. There are two other mobile
operators in Ireland, one of which began service in February 2001.