Vodafone Name Celebrates 30th Birthday
Thirty years ago the Vodafone brand was introduced to the world, even though its then-CEO thought ‘fone’ was stupid
Vodafone is celebrating: it’s 3o years since it introduced the brand as the new name for Racal Electronics’ mobile phone network.
The branding was unveiled on 22 March 1984 at the launch of Racal’s “new portable and mobile public telecommunications service” which promised to offer a “nationwide public telephone network unavailable today.”
The Vodafone name was created by a member of the company’s original directors and the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, and is made up from the words ‘voice’, ‘data’ and ‘phone’. The proposal to spell ‘phone’ as ‘fone’ was initially rejected by then-CEO Sir Gerry Whent.
Vodafone name
He eventually caved in, allegedly saying “in for a penny, in for a pound – you can have your flipping ‘f’ as well,” and later regarded the decision as the right one.
Initial demand for the service was expected from “people constantly on the move” such as business executives, sales reps, journalists, doctors and vets, as well as industries that maintained vehicle fleets, such as construction, logistics and utilities.
The first mobile phone call i Britain was made on Vodafone’s network, which went live in 1985, while the company has become one of the most iconic and biggest technology and communications firms in the UYK
Vodafone’s service went live in 1985 and the company has since become one of the largest technology firms in the UK. It has expanded to a number of markets around the world, but falling revenues in Europe have led it to move into fixed line communications.
It is in the process of building fibre networks in Italy, Spain and Ireland, while it has purchased Kabel Deutschland in Germany and last week announced it had agreed a deal for Spanish cable operator Ono.
This has increased speculation that it could make a move into the consumer UK fixed line market, having already acquired Cable and Wireless for £1 billion in 2012.
