October 8, 2024. Vodafone and Google announced on October 8 a ten-year strategic extension of their existing partnership to deliver new services, devices and TV experiences powered by Google Cloud and Google’s Gemini models to millions of Vodafone customers in Europe and Africa.
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The agreement will provide storage, security and AI support to Vodafone’s customers in 15 countries and its partners in a further 45 markets worldwide, while Google will use Vodafone’s fixed and mobile connectivity services to improve workforce productivity.
Margherita Della Valle, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Group, said: “Together, Vodafone and Google will bring new AI-powered content and devices to millions more consumers. These services will enable our customers to discover new ways to learn, create, communicate and consume TV at an unprecedented scale.”
“Our expanded partnership with Vodafone will help bring our most advanced AI products and services, including our Gemini models, to more people in Europe and Africa,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. “I’m excited to see how Vodafone’s consumers, small businesses and government agencies will use generative AI and Google Cloud to transform the way they work and access information.”
A key focus of the Vodafone and Google partnership is to help consumers take advantage of the latest hardware and digital technologies, including AI and cloud-based applications. Vodafone and Google will work together to improve and expand the range of products and services available in-store and online, supported by a refreshed customer experience based on the benefits of AI. Google and Vodafone are working to enable Vodafone to offer consumers YouTube subscription products and Google One subscription plans, such as storage plans and premium AI plans, alongside a range of Pixel and other Android devices.
Vodafone and Google will work to enhance Vodafone TV (which is based on Android TV) by leveraging Google Cloud’s advanced Gen AI capabilities to provide additional content discovery, rewards and offers features, as well as content monetization with Google Ad Manager to provide a better advertising experience. The teams are also exploring a more deeply integrated YouTube experience on Vodafone TV devices.
Vodafone and Google Cloud already have a successful track record of collaboration. The companies have jointly created a data repository (Data Lake) that hosts Vodafone’s data and existing AI and data analytics services in Google Cloud to ensure maximum security and compliance with regulatory requirements. As part of the expanded partnership, Vodafone will use Vertex AI, Google Cloud’s AI platform for business, to build, deploy and scale machine learning models and AI applications based on Google’s Gemini models. This will help increase the speed and simplicity with which Vodafone’s operating companies in multiple countries can innovate and bring new products to market.
Through this partnership, Vodafone aims to offer its business customers enhanced cyber protection with its own soon-to-be-developed cloud-native cyber security solution, leveraging Google Cloud’s Security Operations Platform. It will provide security incident and event management and the latest software-based protection tools. Vodafone will also use Google Cloud’s Security Operations Platform in the development of certain products and services to ensure that they are secure by design and ensure customers’ online safety.
The two companies intend to jointly promote the use of universal industry standards in areas such as online security, responsible AI development, network performance and interoperability to achieve economies of scale in industrial efficiency, drive innovation and improve public services at scale. Through this partnership, Vodafone will bring AI-powered cloud, content and connectivity services to more people.
Main benefits of the partnership between Vodafone and Google include:
Vodafone is a leading telecommunications company in Europe and Africa. We provide mobile and fixed services to over 330 million customers in 15 countries (excluding Italy, which is a discontinued operation of Vodafone Group), partner with mobile networks in 45 other countries and have one of the world’s largest IoT platforms. In Africa, our financial technology companies serve nearly 79 million customers in seven countries and process more transactions than any other provider.
Our purpose is to use technology to create a better future by improving lives and businesses and contributing to the progress of inclusive, sustainable societies. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and usable. With products and platforms such as web search, Google Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Google Cloud, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a significant role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most recognizable companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.
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Photo: Katharina Hunger/CIMTT
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