LONDON -- Vodafone (VOD -0.42%) (VOD) this morning revealed that it has been selected by German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp as its partner to provide mobile communications services across 30 countries on three continents.
The deal means that Vodafone will service 60,000 mobile voice and data connections, as well as services including mobile device management, in Germany and 29 other countries across Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. The new contract represents a doubling in volume of Vodafone's previous contract with ThyssenKrupp.
CEO of Vodafone Global Enterprise Jan Geldmacher commented: "We're delighted that ThyssenKrupp has decided to expand its mobile communication services contract with Vodafone and that we'll be working together even more closely in the future... It's testament that our product and service portfolio, business model and global network are optimally geared to international corporations' requirements."
Vodafone will also provide ThyssenKrupp with 50,000 machine-to-machine cards, which will "aid the remote control and maintenance of industrial products including tens of thousands of ThyssenKrupp elevators and their emergency intercom systems." Machine-to-machine, or M2M, is a fast-growing market, with 9.7 million M2M connections globally.
CIO at ThyssenKrupp Klaus Mühleck stated: "We decided to partner with Vodafone because it offers us excellent value for money and is able to meet our individual needs. On top, they offer a worldwide service management from one source."
Shares in Vodafone lifted 1.20 pence on the news, with the 0.8% gain reversing a steady decline since the beginning of the week. This further exposure to its main market of Europe, as well as countries across two other continents, increases its chances of growing the company's revenue in the near future.
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