Vodafone Essar in India is a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular licence for Mumbai. Vodafone Essar now has operations in 16 circles covering 86% of India's mobile customer base, with over 38.5 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 200 million customers worldwide. Vodafone has partnered with the Essar Group as its principal joint venture partner for the Indian market. The Essar Group is a diversified business corporation with interests spanning the manufacturing and service sectors like Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping & Logistics and Construction. The Group has an asset base of over Rs.400 billion (US$ 10 billion) and employs over 20000 people. *Figures from Cellular Operators Association of India, Novemeber 30, 2007.
