Vodafone Group Plc 17 May 2005 17 May 2005 VODAFONE LAUNCHES THE VODAFONE TRAVEL PROMISE Commitment to simplify and increase value to Vodafone customers when voice roaming * First element to be launched will be Vodafone Passport, an easier to understand voice roaming price plan * Vodafone customers will be able to call home at domestic rates, with only a connection fee added per call * For the same connection fee, Vodafone customers will be able to receive calls at no additional cost (1) Vodafone announces today the launch of The Vodafone Travel Promise, its commitment to Vodafone customers to offer simplicity and better value for roaming services. The Vodafone Travel Promise will provide the basis for future roaming services made available to Vodafone customers. The first element, Vodafone Passport, will offer customers price clarity and certainty when using voice roaming services abroad. For a one-off connection fee per call, determined by the Vodafone network operator, Vodafone Passport customers will be able to make voice calls at domestic rates when travelling in Vodafone subsidiary and selected affiliate markets(2). In addition, when receiving calls abroad, customers will pay the same connection fee, allowing them to talk for up to a maximum of 60 minutes (1), for no additional charge. Vodafone Passport has been created following extensive customer research to offer greater price transparency and certainty to roaming customers. For example, a Vodafone UK contract customer in Spain making a five minute call to a mobile or fixed-line number back in the UK, using their inclusive minutes, will be charged £0.75, compared to £3.75 under existing price plans, a saving of 80%. Similarly, an Italian prepay customer making a ten minute call back to Italy whilst travelling in France, would be charged €10.00 under existing price plans and only €2.15 with Vodafone Passport, a saving of almost 80%. The longer customers talk on a call, the more cost effective the call becomes. "Vodafone has focused on its customers' needs and is bringing a tangible benefit for our roaming customers through its global service footprint," said Peter Bamford, Chief Marketing Officer at Vodafone. "Our commitment to provide greater clarity on voice roaming pricing will enable our customers to talk more often for longer when abroad." Vodafone Passport will be available to Vodafone customers in Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden from 1 June. Vodafone Passport will be introduced to customers in Albania, Australia, Hungary, Ireland, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal and the UK during the coming months. To opt-in, customers can contact their local operator for more details of applicable home rates and connection fees, terms and conditions and information on excluded price plans. Or they can visit www.vodafone.com The new initiative will be supported by an above and below the line communications campaign, with the theme "The Vodafone Travel Promise", across Europe. Ends Notes to Editors 1. The received call duration periods vary from market to market, ranging from 20 minutes to a maximum of 60 minutes per call. 2. Local Operating Company connection fees for Vodafone Passport (VAT exclusive) range from €0.64 - €1.00 per call within Europe and €0.64 - €1.99 to countries outside of Europe. Vodafone subsidiaries excluding Egypt. Vodafone Passport Availability and Roaming Footprint +---------------------------------+------------------------------------------+ |Vodafone Networks to launch |Vodafone Passport Roaming Footprint | |Vodafone Passport | | +---------------------------------+------------------------------------------+ |Vodafone Albania |Vodafone Albania | | | | |Vodafone Australia |Vodafone Australia | | | | |Vodafone Germany |Proximus (Belgium) | | | | |Vodafone Greece |SFR (France) | | | | |Vodafone Hungary |Vodafone Germany | | | | |Vodafone Ireland |Vodafone Greece | | | | |Vodafone Italy |Vodafone Hungary | | | | |Vodafone Malta |Vodafone Ireland | | | | |Vodafone Netherlands |Vodafone Italy | | | | |Vodafone New Zealand |Vodafone Japan | | | | |Vodafone Portugal |Vodafone Malta | | | | |Vodafone Spain |Vodafone Netherlands | | | | |Vodafone Sweden |Vodafone New Zealand | | | | |Vodafone UK |Vodafone Portugal | | | | | |Vodafone Spain | | | | | |Vodafone Sweden | | | | | |Swisscom Mobile (Switzerland) | | | | | |Vodafone UK | +---------------------------------+------------------------------------------+ Pricing Comparison Information Vodafone Passport is designed for people who intend to make longer calls. For those customers that opt-in for Vodafone Passport the longer the customer talks on a call, the more cost effective the call becomes, as can be seen from the illustrations below. The pricing in the following examples are VAT inclusive, where applicable. Example 1 : Based on a UK customer on Anytime 200 price plan visiting Spain and Australia and calling a UK landline or a Vodafone mobile Example 1 Vodafone World Tariff The Vodafone Passport Tariff* --------------------- ---------------------------------------- Spain Australia Spain SAVING Australia SAVING 1 minute 75p 79p 75p - 75p 5% 2 minutes £1.50 £1.58 75p 50% 75p 47% 5 minutes £3.75 £3.95 75p 80% 75p 81% 10 minutes £7.50 £7.90 75p 90% 75p 91% Example 2 : Based on a UK customer on Anytime 200 price plan visiting Spain and Australia and receiving a call from the UK Example 2 Vodafone World Tariff The Vodafone Passport Tariff --------------------- --------------------------------------- Spain Australia Spain SAVING Australia SAVING 1 minute 75p 75p 75p - 75p - 2 minutes £1.50 £1.50 75p 50% 75p 50% 5 minutes £3.75 £3.75 75p 80% 75p 80% 10 minutes £7.50 £7.50 75p 90% 75p 90% Example 3 : Based on a German customer on UMTS Special Bundle 200 price plan visiting the Netherlands and New Zealand and calling a German landline or Vodafone mobile. Example 3 Vodafone World Tariff The Vodafone Passport Tariff* ----------------------- ------------------------------------------ Netherlands New Zealand Netherlands SAVING New Zealand SAVING 1 minute €0.89 €2.24 €0.75 16% €0.75 67% 2 minutes €1.78 €4.48 €0.75 44% €0.75 83% 5 minutes €4.45 €11.20 €0.75 83% €0.75 93% 10 minutes €8.90 €22.40 €0.75 92% €0.75 97% Example 4 : Based on a German customer on UMTS Special Bundle 200 price plan visiting the Netherlands and New Zealand and receiving a call from Germany. Example 4 Vodafone World Tariff The Vodafone Passport Tariff Netherlands New Zealand Netherlands SAVING New Zealand SAVING ------------------------ ------------------------------------------ 1 minute €0.59 €1.49 €0.75 - €0.75 50% 2 minutes €1.18 €2.98 €0.75 63% €0.75 75% 5 minutes €2.95 €7.45 €0.75 75% €0.75 90% 10 minutes €5.90 €14.90 €0.75 87% €0.75 95% Example 5 : Based on an Italian customer on "Italy new" prepay price plan visiting France and New Zealand and calling an Italian landline or Vodafone mobile. Example 5 Vodafone World Tariff The Vodafone Passport Tariff France New Zealand France SAVING New Zealand SAVING --------------------- --------------------------------------- 1 minute €1.00 €3.00 €1.25 - €1.25 42% 2 minutes €2.00 €6.00 €1.35 33% €1.35 33% 5 minutes €5.00 €15.00 €1.65 67% €1.65 89% 10 minutes €10.00 €30.00 €2.15 79% €2.15 93% Example 6 : Based on an Italian customer on "Italy new" prepay price plan visiting France and New Zealand receiving a call from an Italian landline or Vodafone mobile. Example 6 Vodafone World Tariff The Vodafone Passport Tariff France New Zealand France SAVING New Zealand SAVING --------------------- --------------------------------------- 1 minute €0.45 €2.00 €1.00 - €1.00 50% 2 minutes €0.90 €4.00 €1.00 - €1.00 75% 5 minutes €2.25 €10.00 €1.00 26% €1.00 90% 10 minutes €4.50 €20.00 €1.00 78% €1.00 95% * The Vodafone Passport examples above are based on customers using their inclusive minutes. For further information: Vodafone Group Simon Lewis, Group Corporate Affairs Director Tel: +44 (0) 1635 673310 Investor Relations Charles Butterworth, Darren Jones or Sarah Moriarty Tel: +44 (0) 1635 673310 Media Relations Jon Earl or Janine Young Tel: +44 (0) 1635 673310 About Vodafone Vodafone is the world's largest mobile community with 151 million proportionate customers, equity interests in 26 countries and Partner Networks in a further 14 countries. For further information about Vodafone, please visit the Vodafone Group website: www.vodafone.com For high resolution images please visit www.vodafone.com/media/images/ (c) Vodafone Group 2005. VODAFONE, Vodafone Passport and the Vodafone Logos are trade marks of the Vodafone Group. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trade marks of their respective owners. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange