Vodafone has published a report analysing the company’s economic impact across the 12 EU countries* in which it operates. Developed with KPMG, Vodafone and Europe: Investing for the future reports that Vodafone contributed €23.7 billion to EU economic growth** in 2013/14.
In addition, Vodafone:
- provided employment for 170,000 people across its direct workforce and European supplier base as of 31 March 2014;
- invested €21.5 billion to expand its European networks and services over the past five years, including capital investment of €5.12 billion in 2013/14;
- invested almost €20 billion in acquiring fixed-line businesses in Germany, Greece, Spain and the UK in the last three years alone;
- paid €2.4 billion to EU governments in direct taxation, spectrum costs and other fees, and raised an additional €4.4 billion in indirect tax payments, in 2013/14; and
- since 2000, has paid EU governments a total of €20.8 billion for access to spectrum to roll out 3G and 4G networks across Europe.
Vodafone Group Chief Executive Vittorio Colao said: “The new European Commission has identified as a priority the need to reboot Europe’s digital strategy. Vodafone shares the Commission’s vision of a connected digital single market and has invested more than €40 billion in Europe’s digital infrastructure over the past five years. I hope that this new analysis of the direct and indirect economic impacts of Vodafone’s activities in the EU – €23.7 billion contributed to the EU’s economic growth last year alone – will help to inform public understanding of matters that are critical to the prosperity of all Europeans.
As the Commission develops its plans for a digital single market for Europe, we urge it to prioritise measures intended to ensure fair and sustainable competition based on a level playing field for all companies. It will also be important for the Commission to pursue harmonisation of rules on spectrum, data protection, copyright and other areas as well as to adopt a principles-based approach to the open internet to support future innovation and investment.”
To download a copy of the report, which includes aggregate and individual details of the economic contributions of each of Vodafone’s 12 EU operating companies, visit:www.vodafone.com/eu/economicimpact
Notes to editor:
* Vodafone’s 12 EU markets are Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland,Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain and UK.
**The contribution to economic growth is measured in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA). This is the measurement of the contribution to the economy of an individual producer, industry or sector. It estimates the difference between the value of the goods and services produced and the costs of the inputs – such as raw materials – used to create those goods and services. GVA is used to estimate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is key indicator of the state of the economy.
For further information:
Vodafone Group Media Relations
www.vodafone.com/media/contact
About Vodafone
Vodafone is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone has mobile operations in 26 countries, partners with mobile networks in 54 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. As of 31 December 2014, Vodafone had 444 million mobile customers and 11.8 million fixed broadband customers. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com
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