Kottayam, September 17, 2008: Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading cellular service providers, today announced the launch of its 1st international format Store in Kottayam. This Vodafone store will sport a new look that aims to deliver a complete Vodafone experience to customers. This takes the strength of Vodafone Stores in Kerala to 25 and that of self-service kiosks to 11. The new Vodafone Store is located at Vettor Building, Shastri Road, Kottayam.

Along with availability of new connections, Vodafone handsets, and various value added services, the store offers a dedicated area for customer queries and bill payments. There is a 24 X 7 Self Service Kiosk where customers can pay bills at their convenience. Customers can now look forward to even faster service as all the Vodafone Stores are connected with high speed broadband connectivity.

Suresh Kumar R, Senior Vice President, Vodafone Essar Kerala, said, “In our endeavor to strengthen our relationship with our customers, we are delighted to open the international format store in Kottayam. This new Vodafone Store will offer a one-stop solution for all mobile related information and service needs of our customers.”

About Vodafone Essar Limited
Vodafone Essar in India is a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular license for Mumbai. Vodafone Essar now has operations in 16 circles covering 86% of India’s mobile customer base, with over 50.95 million customers*.

Over the years, Vodafone Essar, under the Hutch brand, has been named the ‘Most Respected Telecom Company’, the ‘Best Mobile Service in the country’ and the ‘Most Creative and Most Effective Advertiser of the Year’.

Vodafone is the world’s leading international mobile communications company. It now has operations in 25 countries across 5 continents and 40 partner networks with over 269 million customers worldwide. Vodafone has partnered with the Essar Group as its principal joint venture partner for the Indian market.

Essar Global Limited (EGL) is a diversified business group spanning the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping & Logistics, and Projects. EGL has an enterprise value of approximately USD 50 billion (INR 200,000 crore) and employs 30,000 people worldwide. The Company has operations and investments in India, Canada, USA, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and South East Asia.

*Figures from Cellular Operators Association of India, July 31, 2008

For more information, please contact:

Sumana Bhat
Genesis Burson Marsteller
Vodafone: +91 99860 42940
Email: sumana.bhat@bm.com