Vodafone has spent three years reshaping itself. It sold its businesses in Spain and Italy and concentrated on markets where it believes it has the scale to compete. In July, Margherita Della Valle made a different kind of move: Vodafone paid £4.3 billion for its former partner’s stake in VodafoneThree, taking full ownership of Britain’s largest mobile operator.
The decision gives Vodafone more control over an £11 billion UK network investment plan. It also leaves the company carrying the full exposure to whether that investment pays off. In Germany, its largest market by service revenue, the recovery is still delicate. Across Vodafone Business, cloud, security and other digital services are growing. In Africa, financial services show what an operator can build when the network becomes part of a wider daily service.
“With full ownership and control, we’ll have the ability to move faster in the next phase of building one of Europe’s leading networks.”
Margherita Della Valle, CEO, Vodafone Group, on the VodafoneThree buyout.
Together, those businesses make Vodafone a revealing third case alongside Deutsche Telekom and BT. Its challenge is to turn several forms of scale into an economic model that earns more from the capabilities of its networks.
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Grenoble has changed the terms of Europe’s photonics debate. STMicroelectronics is producing silicon photonics on 300 mm wafers, and its expansion plans are backed by long-term capacity reservations. The question is no longer whether Europe can manufacture a photonic chip for the AI economy. It is whether enough European customers will build lasting businesses around that capacity.
For now, the clearest route to scale runs through the global AI market. ST describes its high-volume PIC100 customers as leading hyperscalers; Amazon Web Services has publicly identified itself as a collaborator in developing the technology. Those relationships bring production in France the volumes and commercial discipline it needs. They also give large customers substantial influence over the technology’s direction.
This is Europe’s industrial paradox. Its manufacturers need to sell where demand exists today. European system makers may need more time to develop products they can order at scale. If those schedules diverge for too long, Europe could become an excellent place to make chips for systems specified elsewhere.
If those schedules diverge for too long, Europe could become an excellent place to make chips for systems specified elsewhere.
The European customer is beginning to emerge. The harder question is when that customer will be ready to buy.
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The Verizon venture gives BT global reach with less direct exposure to its international business. At home, a vast fibre network is nearing completion. The harder question is whether BT can earn more from the services built on top of it.
Allison Kirkby is changing the shape of BT. The proposed venture with Verizon would combine the companies’ international enterprise operations in a jointly owned business. BT would retain a stake in global connectivity while directing more of its own management attention and capital towards the UK. The transaction is expected to close in 2027, subject to approvals.
This is a significant shift in emphasis. BT has spent years building the physical foundations of Britain’s digital economy. Openreach’s fibre network now passes 23.4 million premises, and 9.4 million are connected. The build is approaching its target of 25 million premises by December 2026. The question for Kirkby is what kind of company BT becomes as construction gives way to competition for customers and cash flow.
Read MoreThe question for Kirkby is what kind of company BT becomes as construction gives way to competition for customers and cash flow.
Michiel Scheffer wants Europe to do more than finance scientific discovery. His vision for the European Innovation Council connects research, patient capital, industrial demand and strategic procurement—turning breakthrough technologies into companies, production capacity and European power.
Under Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission has moved beyond regulation towards crisis management, industrial strategy and geopolitical coordination. Her vision is of a Europe capable of acting—but its growing executive ambition raises questions about power and accountability.
Europe has spent years demanding more engineers. At TU Eindhoven, interest in Electrical Engineering is growing just as educational capacity reaches its limits—exposing the widening gap between Europe’s industrial ambitions and its ability to train the people they require.
Europe has built strong digital rights, but technology is evolving faster than the institutions designed to protect them. As AI, biometrics and platforms reshape power, the challenge is ensuring democratic protection can keep pace.