Vodafone Australia Acqn, etc

VODAFONE AIRTOUCH PLC
17 August 1999
                                  

    VODAFONE AUSTRALIA TO ACQUIRE VODAFONE NEW ZEALAND AND 49% OF
                            VODAFONE FIJI

Vodafone  Holdings  Australia Pty Ltd announced  today  that  it  has
entered  into  agreements  with Vodafone  Europe  Holdings  B.V.,  an
indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone AirTouch Plc, to acquire
the  entire issued share capital of Vodafone New Zealand's operations
(Vodafone  New  Zealand Limited and Vodafone Mobile NZ  Limited)  and
also  49 per cent of the issued share capital of Vodafone Fiji  Ltd.
Telecom Fiji Ltd will continue to own the remaining 51 per cent  of
Vodafone Fiji Ltd.

The agreements are valued at approximately A$1.25 billion.

Dr  Brian  Clark, chief executive of Vodafone Holdings, will continue
to  have  management responsibility for the regional group.  Mr  John
Rohan, and Mr Aslam Khan, will continue as the managing directors  of
Vodafone New Zealand and Vodafone Fiji respectively.

Vodafone in Australia achieved 78 per cent growth in the full year to
31  March  1999, bringing total customer numbers to 972,000.  In  the
latest  quarter,  to June 1999, more than 100,000 net  new  customers
connected  to  Vodafone,  bringing  the  company's  total  Australian
customer base to more than 1,070,000.

Vodafone  New Zealand, New Zealand's only GSM operator, was  acquired
by  Vodafone  Group Plc in October 1998.  Since then,  the  company's
customer base has grown substantially, reaching 181,000 customers  by
31  March  1999,  up  from 130,000 customers upon  acquisition  -  an
annualised growth rate of 94 per cent.

Vodafone  Fiji, the country's sole GSM operator, had 8,000  customers
at 31 March 1999, an annualised growth rate of 59 per cent.

Dr  Clark  said  that  the agreements will establish  Vodafone  as  a
leading regional provider of wireless telecommunications services.

'The agreements will allow us to realise synergies within the region,
to  build  critical mass in our operations and customer base  and  to
rationalise  the group into one regional structure for  the  future,'
said Dr Clark.

As  previously  announced, Vodafone AirTouch Plc  is  considering  an
initial  public offering (IPO) of its Australasian interests  in  the
first half of 2000. Vodafone AirTouch Plc has said that it intends to
maintain a controlling shareholding after any such offering.

Each  agreement  is  subject  to a number  of  conditions,  including
regulatory approval and the listing of the share capital of  Vodafone
Holdings Australia Pty Ltd.

About Vodafone
Vodafone  is  one  of Australia's leading wireless telecommunications
providers  offering  quality  services  to  more  than  one   million
Australian  customers.  Vodafone is also a leader in  the  Australian
pre-paid mobile telephone market. Worldwide, Vodafone AirTouch Plc is
the world's largest mobile telecommunications company with almost  28
million  customers, excluding paging customers.  From April  to  June
1999,   the  Group  signed  up  more  than  2.303  million  net   new
proportionate  customers  worldwide. The  company  has  interests  in
mobile  telephone networks in 23 countries over five continents.   It
operates  through three divisions: the UK; Europe,  Middle  East  and
Africa; and USA/Asia Pacific.

For further information contact:
Terry Barwick, Director of Corporate Affairs,
or Melissa Stimpson, Senior Investor Relations Manager
Vodafone AirTouch Investor Relations Department
Telephone: [phone]
or
Lulu Bridges
Tavistock Communications Limited
Telephone: [phone]
or
Michelle Hindson, General Manager, Corporate Communications
Vodafone Holdings Australia Pty Ltd
Telephone: [phone]