Vodafone Weighs Change in Japan

Wireless giant Vodafone added 4.1 million new users - that’s the population of New Zealand - in its strongest quarter for the past five years. Now it will focus its efforts on improving its Japanese business, according to Chief Executive Arun Sarin. Average revenue per customer have slipped in that country, as well as in the U.K. and Germany. Sarin’s not averse to the idea of selling underperforming operations in Japan, where Vodafone languishes behind NTT DoCoMo and KDDI: “We’re not married to any asset. If an asset loses its usefulness to us.. we’d be willing to look at (a disposal),” he was quoted as saying by AFX News. 

The company now boasts 165 million subscribers across the globe, its numbers bolstered by burgeoning markets such as Spain, Italy and Romania. However, Japan remained a ‘very good’ mobile phone market for Vodafone to be involved in at the moment, as it was at the forefront of innovation in the sector, said Sarin. Continue >>