The relationship between Verizon and Vodafone, the telcos that own US mobile operator Verizon Wireless, is improving, according to comments made by Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo.
The relationship had reportedly been tense for years, following…
The relationship between Verizon and Vodafone, the telcos that own US mobile operator Verizon Wireless, is improving, according to comments made by Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo.
The relationship had reportedly been tense for years, following disagreements over the dividend policy of Verizon Wireless.
Verizon Wireless, in which Verizon holds a 55% stake and Vodafone a 45% stake, had suspended its dividends in 2005 in order to pay down debt. The dividend policy had led to speculation that Vodafone would sell its stake.
But in July, Verizon Wireless announced that it would distribute a dividend of US$10bn to its owners at the end of January 2012, for the first time in years.
Speaking to analysts at a Barcelona conference, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo now said that the relationship with Vodafone is “going absolutely in the right direction”.
Speaking about the CEOs of the companies, Verizon’s Lowell McAdam and Vodafone’s Vittorio Colao, he said: “So the way we’ve always said is it was always a financial relationship and now Lowell and Victoria are moving this into a strategic relationship,” Shammo said.
He noted that the two companies were working together in various areas, including backbone networks, product lines, certain customer accounts and on the development of LTE.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao had said that the success of the closer ties between the companies would determine what happens next between them.
