Vodafone expands presence in Asia

January 25, 2006

Vodafone announces it has signed a Partner Network Agreement with Telekom Malaysia Berhad ("TM"). The Partner Network agreement covers three TM subsidiaries -- Celcom (Malaysia), XL (Indonesia) and Dialog (Sri Lanka).

Under the terms of the agreement, the three TM subsidiaries will be able to provide their roaming customers with access to Vodafone's international voice and data roaming services such as Vodafone World, Virtual Home Environment, Vodafone Passport, GPRS roaming and 3G roaming. The three subsidiaries will also locally introduce a number of Vodafone's business solutions, which will include the world-leading Vodafone Mobile Connect Card proposition, BlackBerry from Vodafone, the 3G/UMTS Router and Vodafone Wireless Office.

In Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, Vodafone's products and services will be marketed under a dual brand, bringing together the nationally recognised brands of Celcom, XL and Dialog, with the globally recognised Vodafone brand.

The mutually beneficial relationship also provides Vodafone, its subsidiaries, affiliates, joint ventures and Partner Network customers' with seamless access to Vodafone's international mobile services whilst travelling in Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

In addition, the agreements provide scope for close co-operation on Multinational Corporate Accounts and for the three TM subsidiaries to benefit from Vodafone's terminal procurement when launching Vodafone's products and services in Asia.

"This strategic relationship with TM significantly enhances our Partner Network presence in Asia, building on our existing relationships with M1 in Singapore and SmarTone in Hong Kong. This is helping improve our roaming footprint in the Asia Pacific region, providing our customers with a greatly enhanced service," said Arun Sarin, Chief Executive at Vodafone. "We intend that our relationship with TM will lead to further benefits for our customers in the future."

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dato' Abdul Wahid Omar, Group Chief Executive Officer of TM said, "Today is a very significant day for both TM Group and Vodafone. We are excited about the possibilities this affiliation brings. Our customers in Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka will have access to a wider spectrum of products and services especially when they travel abroad. In doing so, we are bringing our local mobile market to another level in terms of breadth and depth of product offering and thus raising the bar in meeting customers' needs."

He added: "The partnership's dual-branding will give TM a boost in terms of global visibility and brand equity. With this partnership, we bring together the TM and Vodafone families, increasing roaming revenues by reaching out to more international travellers."

These agreements bring the total number of Vodafone Partner Networks to 31, covering the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia.