Vodafone Americas Foundation Announces Launch ofSecond Annual Wireless Innovation Project

$600,000 To Be Awarded to Projects DemonstratingPromise of Solving Critical
Global Issues
WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
The Vodafone Americas Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of the second
annual Vodafone Wireless Innovation Project, a competition to identify and
reward the most promising advances in wireless related technologies, which can
be used to solve critical problems around the globe. Proposals will be accepted
from October 5, 2009 through February 1, 2010, with the final winners announced
on April 19, 2010 at the annual Global Philanthropy Forum in Redwood City, CA,
one of the Wireless Innovation Project`s nonprofit partners.

"We`re committed to creating and fostering technology that will make a
difference for the world," said Terry Kramer, President Vodafone Americas
Foundation. "Last year`s competition introduced the world to some impressive new
wireless technologies, which are now strongly positioned to make a real
difference in people`s lives in areas such as disaster relief and mobile
health."

Vodafone Americas Foundation will award a total of $600,000 to the first, second
and third-prize winners of the Wireless Innovation Project.

Vodafone, through its foundations, has long recognized that wireless technology
has the potential to make the most significant impacts in the world particularly
in developing countries, which lack basic infrastructure, access to
communication, and other key resources. Guided by its "Passion for the World
Around Us," Vodafone Americas Foundation created the Wireless Innovation Project
to foster creativity and fund the most promising innovations, which have the
potential to solve pressing issues around the globe. Continuing this important
work is in alignment with Vodafone and its global network of 23 foundations
which, through grants and contributions of close to $60,000,000, are helping
hundreds of thousands of people around the world lead better, fuller lives.

Applicants for the Wireless Innovation Project must be nonprofits, educational
institutions or social entrepreneurs based in the United States. Up to $600,000
will be awarded to wireless projects demonstrating exceptional promise to solve
a critical global issue in the following fields: education; health; access to
communication; the environment; or economic development. Moreover, the
innovation can also represent a significant advancement in wireless related
technology to help solve issues such as connectivity, language barriers and
energy use. Projects must be at a stage of development where an advanced
prototype or field test can occur during the award period. Complete detailed
information about eligibility and an application can be found at
http://www.project.vodafone-us.com/.

"It was a thrill to have our work recognized last year," said John Kymissis,
Professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University and co-developer of
Energy Harvesting Active Network Tags (EnHANTs), the 2009 first place winner.
"Since then, we and other colleagues at Columbia University obtained an
additional $16 million in grant money from the Department of Energy that will
enable us to further develop the energy harvesting components of our system."

2009 Winners

Energy Harvesting Active Network Tags (EnHANTs) (First Place Winner, $300,000) -
Wireless tags that harness solar and kinetic energy, and will be carried by
people and embedded in buildings. In the event of a disaster - a building
collapse or a fire - the tags will communicate with each other and create a
wireless network that will provide rescue forces information regarding who is in
a building and where they are located. (Developed by Columbia University)

CellScope (Second Place Winners, $200,000) - A compact, high-resolution cell
phone microscope using cell phone cameras to do onsite microscopic medical
diagnosis in the developing world. The CellScope is particularly useful for
infectious disease diagnosis, especially TB and malaria. (Developed by
University of California, Berkeley)

CelloPhone(Second Place Winners, $200,000)- A wireless and lens-free blood and
fluid analyzer that can capture digital cellular images in the field, and
transmit them to a central medical lab for diagnostic purposes. The CelloPhone
is capable of monitoring HIV, malaria and TB in developing countries. (Developed
by University of California, Los Angeles)

About the Vodafone Americas Foundation

Vodafone Americas Foundation is part of Vodafone`s global network of
foundations. We are affiliated with Vodafone Group Plc, the world's leading
mobile telecommunications company, with equity interests in 27 countries and
Partner Markets in more than 40 countries. As of December 31, 2008, Vodafone had
approximately 289 million proportionate customers worldwide. In the U.S., our
foundation directs its philanthropic activities towards the San Francisco Bay
and the Metro Denver Areas where most of our employees live and work, and where
we strive to make a positive and enduring impact on our communities. The
Foundation is driven by a passion for the world around us. We make grants that
help people in our communities and around the world lead fuller lives.

Vodafone Americas Foundation
Denise Lamott, 415-381-8793
M: 415-235-6458
Denise@DeniseLamottPR.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009