uk.superbrands.com Superbrands UK Vol. 24 Market Vodafone is at the heart of the telecommunications market, which includes mobile network and broadband connectivity with the UK’s largest full fibre footprint, of more than nine million homes. The sector has several large, dominant players and in recent years, many smaller challenger brands have also entered the market. Achievements Vodafone recently reached its goal of connecting one million people living in digital exclusion through its ‘everyone.connected’ programme and has committed to connecting four million in total by the end of 2025. Vodafone is also supporting vulnerable customers by offering both fixed and mobile social tariffs, with its ‘social broadband’ being the cheapest on the market at £12 per month. Vodafone also recently launched a ‘free broadband for 12 months’ offer to help small businesses through the economic crisis. Vodafone unveiled its 5G-enabled haptic suits at the Mighty Hoopla Festival in 2022. This wearable tech allows deaf and hard of hearing fans to feel the music through vibrations, delivered by 24 touchpoints around the suit, to provide a multisensory experience. The use of Vodafone’s 5G network allows the suits to capture the sound of the crowd live and transmits the sensation to the wearer in real time – a world-first innovation which could change the experience of music for millions of deaf and hard of hearing people. Vodafone has a goal of reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2040. In 2022, it was the principal partner of COP27 in Egypt, providing connectivity and showcasing how digital technologies can help address climate change. Back in the UK, Vodafone has switched on the UK’s very first live wind- and solar-powered mobile phone mast in Pembrokeshire, Wales. To help eliminate e-waste, make phones more affordable and encourage a more circular economy in the mobile phone market, Vodafone aims to increase the number of traded-in, refurbished and recycled devices. Purchasing a refurbished smartphone saves around 50kg of CO2e (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent). Another of Vodafone’s collaborative programmes is The Smart Sound Connect Marine 5G Mobile Private Network, deployed by Vodafone in partnership with Nokia and operated by Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML). It is the world’s first 5G marine-focused testbed, at the forefront of marine and maritime innovation. The testbed will be free to use for local and international businesses to create and develop marine 5G use cases. The first 5G trialists for Smart Sound Connect include Lloyd’s Register, the National Physical Laboratory, Serco, and The Bounty Project. The 5G network will be augmented by a highspeed data mesh network from Steatite. History Vodafone was launched on 1st January 1985 from a courtyard in Newbury, Berkshire, enabling the first cellular call on a UK network from Parliament Square to Surrey. Vodafone continued to make history in 1991 when it launched the first digital mobile phone service in the UK. The following year,
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