| Type | Vodafone Australia Limited, Subsidiary of Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Ltd |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 1992 (awarded licence)[1] |
| Headquarters | 799 Pacific Hwy Chatswood, New South Wales |
| Key people | Nigel Dews, CEO |
| Products | Prepaid and postpaid mobile phones |
| Employees | 5000 (as of 2011)[2] |
| Website | http://www.vodafone.com.au/ |
Vodafone Australia is a mobile telephone company, a subsidiary of Vodafone Hutchison Australia. Vodafone Australia was formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone Plc (which is based in the UK).
On 10 June 2009, after ACCC approval, Vodafone Australia merged with the Australian subsidiary of Hutchison 3G (known by its '3' brand) to become Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Ltd, owned by Hutchison Telecommunications Australia (a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa) and Vodafone Group PLC on a 50-50 basis.[3]
Phone products include prepaid and postpaid mobile services, on GSM and 3G UMTS mobile networks. Vodafone live! is Vodafone's mobile Internet service.
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The GSM mobile service on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz covers 94.52% of the Australian population. The 3G 2100 MHz UMTS network is available in metro areas of major cities and some larger regional centres covering 10% of the population. Expansion of the 3G UMTS network using 900 MHz to equal or surpass the GSM coverage is due to be completed by 31 August 2009 [2] [3]. On 21 October 2010 Vodafone publicly announced their plans to improve Coverage in all major capital cities across Australia by installing 1,150 new 850MHz 3G network sites in 2011 on top of 350 existing 850MHz sites. [4]
As of 30 June 2011, Vodafone claimed 7.2 million mobile telephone customers connected across Australia (including customers connected to virtual network operators).[4]
Vodafone's Globalstar integrated satellite/digital service covers 100 per cent of the Australian continent and up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the mainland.
Vodafone phones are sold in almost 16,000 retail outlets across Australia, with 170 Vodafone-branded stores (2005 figures).[2]
Different outlets include:
Vodafone Australia is involved in sponsoring a number of Australian sports teams:
The company previously held the naming rights to Vodafone Arena (now Hisense Arena), a mixed-sports venue in Melbourne.
On 9 February 2009 Vodafone and Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) Limited (owner of 3 Australia) announced that they would be merging their operations into a 50-50 joint venture called VHA Pty Ltd. All products and services offered by VHA would be marketed under the Vodafone brand, as well as holding exclusive rights to the 3 brand during and after the transition process. The merger was expected to be completed by mid-2009, and has been approved by the ACCC, although this as not yet taken place.[5]
In the last quarter of 2010, the Vodafone Australia network began to exhibit severe problems regarding call quality, voicemail, SMS reliability and data speeds. [6] Disgruntled consumers vented their anger through social media and the creation of the Vodafail website[7]. These activities prompted extensive media coverage by major outlets including Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian and other media channels. The CEO of Vodafone, Nigel Dews, issued an apology and the company allowed certain customers to terminate their contracts and service without incurring a penalty. [8]
A law firm proposed a filing a class action suit[9] against the provider, due to the network being seen as unfit for purpose. Although almost 23,000 individuals who identified themselves as disgruntled customers signed up to take part in the case, it has obtained the necessary funding to proceed with the filing. [10]
Vodafone announced an new investment programme to address these and other issues with a proposed completion date in 2013.
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