While it is not a widely recognized name in the U.S. (yet), U.K.-based Vodafone is actually the second largest mobile operator in the world behind China Mobile with 454 million subscribers worldwide and deep roots in the cellular business.
In 1982, its predecessor company, Racal-Millicom, was awarded the second cell phone license in the U.K., and in 1985 it launched officially under the name Racal-Vodafone.
The reason it is so little known in the U.S. is that in 1990 it merged its U.S. assets with Bell Atlantic to form Verizon Wireless in which it held a 45% stake. Verizon bought Vodafone out in 2014 for $58.9 billion in cash, $60.2 billion in stock, and $11 billion in other transactions.
