Hanover, 3 March 2008. This year is the fourth in succession to see Vodafone in a purpose-built CeBIT pavilion that ideally demonstrates the company's special commitment to technical sophistication and creativity.
A team of around 20 staff have been making the technical preparations for CeBIT 2008 since September 2007. They have to ensure that all the devices and services are ready to function perfectly under real trade fair conditions. Mobile communica-tions traffic at the exhibition site will reach a record level this year. There will be just as many calls made on one day at the CeBIT site as there are made in a big city like Hamburg.
It took a total of 66 days to build the 87 metres long, 30 metres wide and almost 11 metres high Vodafone Pavilion at this year's CeBIT and 138,000 screws were used to fasten the 2,800 m² pavilion together. The technology and decorations inside the pavilion are pretty sophisticated. In addition to the approximately 80 kilometres of power cables, it also incorporates around 4000 metres of antenna cable leading to over 130 presentation points. To enhance the visual appearance for visitors, almost 110 tons of gravel have been brought inside the big hall. It provides a good contrast against the more than 8000 metres of bamboo tubes that give the pavilion an extra special look. This effect is further enhanced by the 18,300 interactive LED elements that are built into the floor.
The staff will be fine tuning the pavilion until Sunday 2 March. Everything will be ready by the morning of Monday 3 March when the journalists arrive at the pavilion for the press conference. As many as 200 personnel who will be working in the pavilion from 4-9 March will also be arriving to be shown the ropes. Up to 3000 hot meals will be prepared in the Vodafone canteen during the CeBIT fair and by the time CeBIT closes its doors, around 10,000 cups of latte macchiato, coffee and cappuccino, plus approx. 9,000 soft drinks, will have been consumed by staff and visitors.
The pavilion staff will have their own pavilion mobile phone for the CeBIT week, the Motorola V9, which will have all the important telephone numbers preconfigured.
On Tuesday 4 March 2008 at 9 a.m., everything kicks off for real.
If you have any queries, please contact:
Dirk Ebrecht, External Communications, T: +49 511 7803-853
Press hotline: +49 211 533-5500
Vodafone Germany is one of the largest and most modern telecommunications providers in Europe. It serves almost 34 million customers, realises turnover of more than EUR 8 billion and has 9,000 employees. Vodafone Germany is an innovative technology and service enterprise, offering a comprehensive range of mobile communication services from one provider. The portfolio includes mobile communications and fixed network telephony, as well as data services for business and private customers. Continuous development, numerous patents and investments in new products, services and the modern network have made Vodafone an innovation leader in the German telecommunications market. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf. Eight branch offices and a chain of 1600 Vodafone shops keep us close to our customers. The Vodafone Germany group of companies also includes a majority shareholding in the Arcor telecommunications group, which is headquartered in Eschborn, Germany. Vodafone Germany is committed to CSR and it additionally supports numerous projects through the German Vodafone Foundation.
The company is part of the Vodafone Group. Visit the website at www.vodafone.de for further information.