Sir Christopher Gent Awarded 2003 GSM Association Chairmans Award

Vodafone Group Chief Executive honoured in wireless industry awards

Vodafone Group Chief Executive honoured in wireless industry awards

Cannes, France, 19 February 2003: Sir Christopher Gent, Chief Executive of Vodafone Group Plc last night received a prestigious award from the GSM Association (GSMA), the body that represents the worlds network operator community.

The GSMA Chairmans Award for 2003 was presented to Sir Christopher during a special Awards ceremony in Cannes, France on the eve of the wireless industrys annual gathering, the 3GSM World Congress.

The award, one of the highest wireless industry honours, this year recognised Sir Christopher Gents commercial and strategic leadership of Vodafone Group Plc as an outstanding personal achievement, and a remarkable contribution to the growth of the GSM industry over the last two decades. Sir Christopher, who retires at the end of July, collected the accolade in person.

Knighted for his services to the mobile communications industry in the United Kingdom in 2001, Sir Christopher is probably one of the best known figures in the telecommunications sector. Under his leadership, Vodafone has become the worlds largest mobile telecommunications network, with interests in 28 countries across five continents and over 112 million proportionate customers worldwide.

It was a big night for Vodafone Group, which also won the GSMAs Best Consumer Application award and Best Television Commercial for the Vodafone live! mobile multimedia service, launched in 2002 to great acclaim.

Presenting Sir Christopher with the award, Jim Pratt, GSM Association Chairman 2002, said: Sir Christophers service to the wireless industry has been hugely significant -- he has been a tremendous ambassador for the industry. The award is also in recognition of a firm and committed support of the GSM Association during his time as Chief Executive of Vodafone."

On receiving the award, Sir Christopher commented: It is a tremendous honour to receive such personal recognition from the GSM Association, though it really would not have been possible without the passion and dedication of all Vodafones global employees."

I am extremely fortunate to have been involved in an industry which has delivered on such a massive scale and beneficially changed the way its users live throughout the world," he said. GSM has brought unprecedented communication freedoms to people and vast economic and social benefits to governments, businesses and the communities it serves throughout the world. The excitement for the future is that there is even more to come in new services and additional customer growth."

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Notes for Editors:

For full details of all winners, commended entries and the judging panel, please see: http://www.gsmworld.com/awards

About the GSM Association

The GSM Association (GSMA) is the world's leading wireless industry representative body. It consists of more than 660 second and third generation wireless network operators working collaboratively to accelerate the implementation of collectively identified, commercially prioritised operator requirements. The Associations members provide digital wireless services to more than 800 million customers in over 190 countries of the world (end January 2003).

The GSM family of wireless communications platforms, including GSM, GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution) and W-CDMA account for approximately 72 percent of the total digital wireless market today. The GSM Association is a unique organisation, with truly global reach, offering a full range of business and technical services to its members. For more information, visit the website at www.gsmworld.com.

GSM is a registered trademark, registered and owned by the GSM Association.
"GSM - The Wireless Evolution"

Contact Information:

Mark Smith
Communications Director
GSM Association
Tel: +44 207 518 0549
Fax: +44 207 518 0531
msmith@gsm.org

Or

Clare Bragg/Richard Fogg
Companycare Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 118 939 5900
Email: clare@companycre.com
Richard@companycare.com

At the 3GSM World Congress:
Clare Bragg - +44 (0)7050 231 669
Richard Fogg - +44 (0)7887 845 236

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