Vodafone made the UK's first mobile call at a few minutes past midnight on 1 January 1985. Vodafone UK made its first 3G voice call, on the 16 April 2001.
Vodafone has 120 million, primarily GSM, subscribers in 28 countries. Until 2002 it was the largest mobile phone company in the world; however, it is now the world's second largest after China Mobile.
In the United States, Vodafone owns 44% of Verizon Wireless, the country's largest mobile carrier. However, the phone company Verizon owns a majority of Verizon Wireless and Vodafone's branding is not used, nor is the network compatible with GSM phones.
On October 1st 2003 Vodafone's Japanese unit J-Phone dropped its brandname in favor of the globally recognized 'Vodafone'.
Vodafone's logo can be seen on the jerseys of Manchester United players, thanks to its high-profile sponsorship of the soccer team. The logo can also be seen sponsoring the England cricket team, the Ferrari F1 team, DTM German touring cars and Vodafone Oaks and Derby at Epsom.
The logo shows the outline of a SIM-card, a rounded rectangle with one corner cut back. The brand color is a bright red, used with white.