Vodafone has announced the extension of its collaboration with Google for an additional ten years, aiming to introduce innovative services, devices, and television experiences to its customers across Europe and Africa. This strategic move is supported by Google Cloud and Google’s Gemini models, which will enhance storage, security, and artificial intelligence capabilities for Vodafone’s customer base and its business partners.
The announcement comes on the heels of Vodafone’s previous partnership with Microsoft, unveiled in January 2024, which was also set for a ten-year duration. The alliance with Microsoft focuses on delivering generative AI, digital services, and cloud solutions to a vast audience of over 300 million businesses and consumers in the same regions. As part of this initiative, Vodafone has committed to investing $1.5 billion in cloud services and AI solutions tailored for customers, developed in collaboration with Microsoft.
Both tech giants will leverage Vodafone’s extensive fixed and mobile connectivity services to bolster workforce productivity and enhance customer experiences. Margherita Della Valle, the CEO of Vodafone Group, expressed that the collaboration will provide customers with access to new AI-driven content and devices, revolutionizing the way they learn, create, communicate, and enjoy television on an unprecedented scale.
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and Alphabet, echoed the sentiment, highlighting that the expanded partnership will disseminate Google’s cutting-edge AI products and services to a broader audience in Europe and Africa.
Vodafone’s footprint in Africa spans several countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, and South Africa. In South Africa, Vodacom, a Vodafone subsidiary, is poised to merge with Maziv and has reported a service revenue of R61.6 billion ($3.36 billion), marking a 2.6% increase from the previous year. Additionally, Vodafone Egypt is among the mobile operators that have recently secured agreements with the Egyptian government for the second phase of 5G licenses.
As part of the extended partnership with Google, Vodafone plans to broaden the reach of Google’s AI-driven Pixel devices through its 5G network. Vodafone TV is set to become more personalized and engaging, with enhanced content search and recommendations powered by Google Cloud’s generative AI technology on its set-top boxes. There is also potential for future integration of advertising using Google Ad Manager. Furthermore, by 2025, Vodafone aims to offer Google One AI Premium subscription plans, which include Gemini Advanced, in selected markets as part of the companies’ collaborative efforts.
