Free calls to land line area code of choice and other Vodafone business mobiles

Vodafone UK is again backing Britain’s growing army of small businesses with a simple value-for-money price plan designed specifically for needs of businesses with 20 staff or less. Known simply as Small Business, the new plan offers free calls, 24 hours a day, to an area code of the customer’s choice¹ as well as free calls to any other businesses on Vodafone business price plans.² These calls will be preceded by a unique tone to notify customers that the call is free.

Other free calls on the plan include calls between company mobiles and up to five company landlines. The plan, which starts from £22 per month, also includes an option to add email for as little as £1.25 a week.³

To celebrate the new plan, Vodafone is also offering a special deal of free calls 24/7 to all UK land lines⁴ on its 24 month contracts (offer available on contracts taken out before 31 January 2008).

Kyle Whitehill, Director of Vodafone Enterprise Business Unit, Vodafone UK commented: “We wanted to develop a service to reflect the needs of small business. The majority of smaller companies still do business locally and our own research shows that up to 25% of small business calls are to other businesses. We know that they are passionate about what they do and want to be able to seize the opportunities afforded by mobility with a minimum of fuss and without fear of spiralling costs. That is exactly what Small Business delivers.”

Vodafone UK recently surveyed over 1,900 small businesses as part of its ongoing Working Nation research programme. The survey discovered that just under 33% of the UK population is considering setting up a start-up company in the next five years.⁵

Scott Cain of Enterprise Insight, the government-funded body behind National Enterprise Week and the Make Your Mark campaign, commented: “We have worked with Vodafone on a number of projects over the past year and have been hugely impressed by their willingness to back small businesses and help people to fulfil their business potential. It’s great to see that this extends to practical services and benefits that Vodafone can offer to its small business customers.”

Small Business is supported by Vodafone UK’s Small Business Promise, which includes freedom to switch price plans after six months, exclusive 24 month handset replacement option, network transfer promise and dedicated business support with ‘same advisor’ routing and no voice-recognition systems. For more information on Small Business and Small Business Promise please visit www.vodafone.co.uk/smallbusiness.

Notes to editors

All free calls are free for the first 60 minute, after this normal call charges apply.

1. Available on 12 and 18 month contracts. Area code is selected at an account level not a handset level, however a customer can change their chosen area code every month.
2. Free calls are to other businesses on Vodafone business price plans (12, 18 and 24 month contracts). Business price plans refer to: Small Business, Sharetime Plus, Sharetime, Company Caller Plus, Company Caller, Commercial Caller Plus, Commercial Caller and Business Caller Plus. Not included: Businesstime, Business Caller, VF Business, Anytime and some other legacy tariffs.
3. Available only on 18 or 24 month contracts.
4. This includes all National Number Groups such as 0207 and 0151.
5. Research undertaken by Tickbox throughout September 2006. Survey sample: 1933 adults aged 16+ years were interviewed. Tickbox.net is a full member of the British Market Research Association.

For further information please contact:

Vodafone Group Media Relations (UK) on 01635 664444 or email: press.office@vodafone.com

About Vodafone

Vodafone UK has 17.7 million customers and is part of the world’s leading international mobile telecommunications Group, offering a wide range of voice and data communications. The company is committed to providing mobile solutions that allow both consumer and business customers to make the most of now. In addition, Vodafone connects customers across the globe with roaming agreements worldwide. It provides 3G roaming in 29 countries and offers great roaming value with Vodafone Passport. For more information, please visit www.vodafone.co.uk .