• Vodafone turns a corner in H1 
• Veon’s digital services fuel Q3 revenue growth 
• T-Mobile US adds CNN to its SuperMobile club

In today’s industry news roundup: Positive growth momentum at two of Europe’s international players as Vodafone and Veon report improving sales and margin growth; CNN signs up for T-Mobile US’s SuperMobile offer; and much more!

Has Vodafone Group turned a corner? The international operator is finally reporting revenue growth in its single largest market, Germany (albeit just 0.5% for the second fiscal quarter), and has reported an encouraging 5.7% like-for-like, year-on-year increase in service revenues for the first half of its current financial year to €16.3bn. That growth rate might not seem amazing but it looks good when put into context of the broader global growth rates for the telco sector in general, with IDC expecting a 1.7% increase in global telecom and pay-TV operator sales this year. In addition, Vodafone reported a 5.9% increase in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first half to €5.73bn. Vodafone Group CEO Margherita Della Valle stated: “Following the progress of our transformation, Vodafone has built broad-based momentum. In the second quarter, we saw service revenue accelerating, with good performances in the UK, Türkiye and Africa, and a return to top-line growth in Germany. Whilst we have more to do, we delivered good strategic progress in the half year, driving further operational improvements across the business, expanding our customer satisfaction initiatives, and making a fast start in integrating the Vodafone and Three networks in the UK. Based on our stronger performance, we are now expecting to deliver at the upper end of our guidance range for both profit and cash flow, and as our anticipated multi-year growth trajectory is now under way, we are introducing a new progressive dividend policy, with an expected increase of 2.5% for this financial year.” According to Vodafone, this is its first dividend increase since 2018. The telco’s share price gained 6.2% in Tuesday trading on the London Stock Exchange to reach 94.4 pence, its highest since 2023. 

Vodafone isn’t the only multi-market telco with a positive spring in its financial step. Veon, which has operations in multiple markets (Ukraine, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan) has reported a 7.5% year-on-year increase in group third-quarter revenues to almost $1.12bn and EBITDA growth of 19.7% to $524m. Notably, Veon’s direct digital services revenues grew by 63.1% to $198m (almost 18% of group revenues) – you can find out more about Veon’s digital services strategy by checking out this MWC25 interview with Lasha Tabidze, Veon’s chief digital operations officer. Commenting on the results, Veon Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu stated: “Our third-quarter performance once again demonstrates the resilience and strength of Veon’s digital operator model. We delivered strong revenue and EBITDA growth, supported by robust margins across our markets. Our digital businesses continue to accelerate as customer engagement grows across our digital platforms. Our focus on digital services, customer engagement and operational excellence continues to drive Veon’s strong growth and financial performance. 

T-Mobile US continues to capitalise on its 5G standalone and 5G-Advanced investments with the addition of another high-profile enterprise customer for its recently launched SuperMobile offer, which was initially unveiled in late August. Having namechecked Delta Air Lines and Axis Energy Services as early adopters for the service, which combines “intelligent performance, built-in security and seamless satellite coverage”, T-Mobile US recently announced Siemens Energy as a SuperMobile customer and has now bagged broadcasting giant CNN as a customer too. “Running on America’s best mobile network, SuperMobile turns CNN journalists’ phones into true mobile newsrooms with always-on connectivity – delivering breaking news live, on demand and from virtually anywhere in the US,” noted the operator in this announcement. Guy Griggs, senior VP of ad sales & client partnerships at CNN commented: “Technology and connectivity are critical components to the way that news is sourced, produced and distributed. In this spirit, and as part of CNN’s wider digital transformation, we are excited to work in an integrated way with a trusted brand like T-Mobile to bring best-in-class and distinctive journalism to the palms of our audiences’ hands. This collaboration enables SuperMobile to power CNN’s live coverage of breaking news and major cultural moments, enhancing the experience for our users,” added Griggs. 

Here’s an interesting development that could lead to lots of different interpretations… Japan’s SoftBank Group has sold its stake in Nvidia, reports the Associated Press, raising $5.8bn to invest in its various (AI) projects, one of which could be its new enterprise AI joint venture with OpenAI – see SoftBank advances B2B AI with Gen-AX, OpenAI.

– The staff, TelecomTV