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Vodafone charges batteries for Heathrow wireless travellers

Did you just arrive at Heathrow with a flat phone battery? Not sure what to dial to call directory enquiries? And which network should you select, anyway? Amazingly, Vodafone is to provide a dozen staff to help - but not to greet incoming travellers to the airport with this sort of advice. Instead, it's to help departing travellers.

The Vodafone Experience is a new facility in Heathrow. It will be staffed from the moment the first flights arrive, at 6 AM, till (strangely) only 7 PM each night, by a team of 12 Vodafone representatives who are qualified to help mobile phone users passing through Heathrow's Terminal 1 Departure Lounge. Yes, Departures. The staff will be prepared for standard problems, which, says Vodafone, will be:

· General enquiries

· Battery charging facility for the 15 most popular mobile phones

· Roaming questions

· How to enable voicemail

· How to use text messaging

· How to manually switch networks when abroad

· How to use short code access to voicemail when abroad on Vodafone partner networks

· Swapping SIMs - enabling more numbers to be stored on latest 32k SIM

· Automatic addition of international phone number prefix to all numbers stored on SIM

· Internet access using GPRS via a laptop and a PDA

· Email access using GPRS

· Out of hours Vodafone Customer Care facility

Vodafone UK says this is "the first ever mobile phone contact, information and assistance zone at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 1 Departure Lounge," - which is probably true.

Providing support for voice and data services it is also, apparently, the first zone of its kind within an airport, and pending evaluation is likely to be followed by similar projects in other European airports.

Once you're through security and passport control, you'll find the Experience opposite the BA Executive Lounge. It's designed "to demonstrate Vodafone's latest innovations whilst bringing relevant information, support and advice to mobile phone users travelling abroad from Heathrow Terminal 1."

Gavin Darby, Chief Operating Officer, Vodafone UK commented: "Over 14 million individuals pass through Heathrow's Terminal 1 each year. It is a vitally important gateway to the rest of Europe, and a highly effective platform for us to reach international travellers with timely advice on how to make best use of their mobile phones abroad, whether at work or on holiday."

"The mobile phone is no longer simply about voice calls - it's also about text messaging, email and other mobile applications that are increasingly vital to maintaining seamless contact with home or the office whilst maintaining productivity on the move. Through the Vodafone Experience, we aim to provide the education that ensures the potential for our customers is maximised," Darby added.

This new concept is being led by Vodafone UK as an integral part of Vodafone's global "How Are You?" communication campaign. Working with JC Decaux Airport UK, it represents a move towards bespoke communication solutions, and will reach a specific and defined audience of travelling mobile phone users in a way that no other mobile telecommunications company has attempted before.