Vodafone in Yahoo! advertising tie-up to offer cheaper calls

Vodafone has signed a mobile advertising deal with Yahoo! UK that will see consumers receive ads on their mobile phones in exchange for cheaper bills. The news comes as Vodafone reports losses of £3.3bn for the half year to the end of September.

The mobile giant announced its intention to launch a mobile advertising service in May. At the time, it said it would consider offering customers free access to mobile television, cheap calls, free mobile browsing or free games and music downloads if they accept advertising messages.

The service will be rolled out in early next year but Vodafone UK chief executive Nick Read says the company has been conducting consumer trials since the announcement in May.

He adds: "This will ensure that advertisers are given a compelling proposition."

Despite the £3.3bn loss, Vodafone’s results were ahead of analysts’ expectations at the underlying profit level, with revenues increasing 4% to £15.6bn. The £3.3bn loss was caused by further write-downs at Vodafone’s Italian and German operations. The poor performance of the two divisions dragged the company into a record European corporate loss earlier this year.