Vodafone expands into various countries ending in 'ia'

NEWS Vodafone has signed one of its Partner Network Agreements with Mobilkom, the mobile arm of Telekom Austria. The arrangement means Mobilkom's networks - in Croatia and Slovenia under the VIPnet and Si.mobil brands respectively as well as in Austria - will sit alongside the several dozen national networks around the world in which Vodafone holds an equity stake. Consumers in Austria, Croatia and Slovenia will now start to see jointly branded services for options such as Vodafone Eurocall, Assisted Roaming, Virtual Home Environment and GPRS Roaming. Vodafone customers now get these services in these three additional territories while subscribers to those networks will be able to roam on Vodafone networks elsewhere. Over the past year Vodafone has signed similar agreements with TDC Mobil in Denmark, Kuwait's MTC and Radiolinja, for Finland and Estonia. The latest development exposes an extra 4.26 million customers to Vodafone's offerings, expanding the giant's footprint in Central Europe. Meanwhile Telekom Austria and Mobilkom will feel they are giving up long term control of their future.