CEOs welcomed spectrum- and sovereignty-related developments in Q2 2026, highlighting the ongoing execution of their respective strategies while downplaying the risks presented by satellite providers
Liberty Global: Acknowledgement that action may be needed to boost Virgin Media O2’s fortunes
Mike Fries (CEO, Liberty Global) began in an upbeat tone, seeing Europe as “catching a bit of a tailwind”, with deregulation, sovereignty and AI colliding – themes from which he sees Liberty Global standing to benefit. Fries considered that the operator was in a “lucky” position relative to its peers, having the financial and structural flexibility to create value from its assets. He stated that the forthcoming spin-off of the newly-formed Ziggo Group was on track, reaching important milestones with the approval of fibre sharing in Flanders in Belgium and the acquisition of Vodafone’s 50% stake in VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands, with a view to repeating the successful spin-off of Sunrise in the Netherlands. However, this optimism was tempered partly by analyst questions on the challenging market environment facing Virgin Media O2 in the UK and the extent of pressure on ARPU trends. Lutz Schüler (CEO, Virgin Media O2) stated that the competitive intensity of the market was something already anticipated by Virgin Media O2 and its ownership, and that any recent ARPU impacts were largely driven by the operator’s own recontracting activities. Fries added that Virgin Media O2 is the only scaled challenger (to BT) in the UK, with great potential in fixed wholesale to capital on a growing fibre footprint – which would accelerate with the Netomnia acquisition – but recognised that it is in a “street fight” with MVNOs and altnets. He stressed that both Liberty Global and co-owner Telefónica are aligned on their commitment to the business for the long-term, acknowledging that a review of Virgin Media O2 was taking place behind the scenes, including looking at how to reduce leverage. The outcome of that process is due to be presented alongside full year results in February 2027, although Charlie Bracken (CFO, Liberty Global) was keen to state that analysts should not expect anything “sinister or magical” about that update.
Vodafone Group: Regulation took a backseat to discussions on the operator’s ongoing transformation and commercial outlook
Jean-François van Boxmeer (Chair, Vodafone Group) reiterated the claim by Margherita Della Valle (CEO, Vodafone Group) from the Q1 earnings call that Vodafone has become a “simpler and stronger business” thanks to its transformation roadmap, with an increase in organic adjusted EBITDAal of 6.2% this quarter. Van Boxmeer noted that the completion of the merger with Three had created the largest mobile operator in the UK, and highlighted that further M&A activity, such as the acquisitions of Telekom in Romania and Skaylink in Germany, had also driven growth. In this context, the lack of discussion on Liberty Global’s impending (now completed) buyout of VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands was somewhat surprising. While there was also an absence of questions on regulatory issues, there was interest in Vodafone’s Satellite Connect Europe joint venture with AST Mobile, including whether this initiative would increase revenue. To this, Della Valle stated that she doesn’t see this partnership as a massive revenue stream but, as satellite technology has been evolving significantly, it will soon be possible to connect regular smartphones with satellites, which will support customer satisfaction. She noted that the focus is on launching the service itself, which will lead to improvements in experience and ubiquitous connectivity whether “you’re in the middle of the sea or on top of a mountain”. When asked what Vodafone is doing to mitigate risks of disruption due to network upgrades, Della Valle acknowledged that changes in the network cause vulnerability, but that there are a range of options to minimise disruption, such as carrying out operations at night.
Orange: A lengthy review of the proposed SFR acquisition is in line with expectations
Orange’s joint acquisition of SFR with Bouygues Telecom and Iliad in France remained a key talking point, as it was during previous quarterly results calls, with Christel Heydemann (CEO, Orange) stating that the French competition authority’s (Autorité de la concurrence) timeline for review of at least 18 months was “consistent with what we’re expecting”. She added that the group had learnt from its merger with MasMovil to create MasOrange in Spain that a faster review process does not necessarily guarantee a better outcome, and that its target for closing the deal will be in H2 2027. She noted that in the next month the focus will be on providing all of the data and information to the competition authority before the formal notification phase begins. In response to a question on whether satellite operators could prove to be competitors to mobile operators in the coming years, Heydemann said that they were “not enemies” and that satellite connectivity complements mobile and fixed networks. She stated that while Orange wouldn’t be “rushing into partnerships” with satellite operators, she is convinced that it is a worthwhile backup solution. There were also several questions regarding the impact of the wildfires in France and Spain on Orange’s networks, to which Heydemann confirmed that they would continue monitoring their services and were working with power and energy companies to reduce the likelihood of outages.
TIM: The group will retain its overall strategy regardless of the expected acquisition by Poste Italiane
Pietro Labriola (CEO, TIM Group) noted that TIM’s operating performance for Q2 2026 was in line with expectations, stating that “if I had to describe this quarter in one word, it would be execution”. Piergiorgio Peluso (CFO, TIM Group) noted that the reimbursement of licence fees that TIM paid to the Italian Government in 1998 after the liberalisation of the telecoms sector has resulted in a net positive effect of almost €1bn (£857m), which has been reflected in TIM’s guidance for the full year. With regards to Poste Italiane’s takeover bid, which was approved by TIM’s board of directors in July 2026, Labriola asserted that regardless of whether TIM remained a standalone entity or combined with Poste, its overarching five-year strategy would remain the same. There were several questions on spectrum, likely prompted by the consultation launched by AGCOM on proposals to extend 5G spectrum rights (which initially were set to expire in 2029) to 2037. While Labriola acknowledged that only a press release had been issued so far, he noted that it was “quite positive” and went “in the direction we were asking”. He also stated that the Italian mobile market has some of the lowest prices in the world, and that the extension of spectrum licences to develop standalone 5G (5GSA) would allow them to monetise the network better. Asked whether TIM would be taking part in the EC’s AI Gigafactories project, Labriola replied that while he sees TIM as a leader in Italy as a tech company, he would need to come back to this question when further details of the initiative are announced.
Telefónica: Further M&A would depend on the price that would be paid and the synergies that could be realised
Marc Murtra (CEO, Telefónica) reported the continued execution of Telefónica’s “Transform and Grow” strategic plan, with the operator on track to meet its financial targets for 2026, all of which have been confirmed or upgraded. Having taken on the challenge of being “the best gateway for citizens to access digital services”, Murtra stated that Telefónica now has “reinforced ambitions”, with its performance in Brazil and Spain setting the pace through improved revenue and profitability. To a question on whether Telefónica might wait to see how the review of the proposed acquisition in France develops before pursuing any further M&A activity, Murtra first underlined the significance of the EC’s draft merger guidelines, which would attach greater weight to the impact of transactions on investment. He stated that it was an interesting sign that the carve-up of SFR will be assessed in France, but that any moves by Telefónica would not be subject to the timing and outcomes of that review, and instead to the price and synergies associated with a given opportunity. Regarding the ongoing review of Virgin Media O2 in the UK, Murtra echoed comments from Fries that the operator is a “strategically important asset” but that leverage is higher than its owners would want. Playing down the need for immediate action, Murtra stated that there were levers available to pull to deliver proactive balance sheet management, with its work to update Virgin Media O2’s long-term plan considering organic and inorganic opportunities, including those in the wholesale space.
Deutsche Telekom: Satellite remains a complementary technology for, rather than a direct threat to, telecoms operators
Tim Höttges (CEO) stated that continued strong performance at Deutsche Telekom had put everyone in a positive mood, providing a clear line of sight towards the delivery against full year financial targets. He stated that T-Mobile is the growth and network leader in the US, which has been supported by the recent UScellular acquisition, and that the operator is looking ahead to forthcoming auctions for 2.7GHz and Upper C-band spectrum as an opportunity to cement that position. Deutsche Telekom’s proposed up to €3bn (£2.6bn) share buyback was the main subject of analyst questions, which Höttges stated had been driven by its perception that its shares are trading too low (including relative to European peers) and represented an “excellent” choice of investment. Asked why that money is not instead going to be used to accelerate fibre rollouts in Germany (where coverage lags behind most other EU Member States), Höttges stated that he is constantly considering the options available to him (likening this to speaking to two devils sitting on either shoulder), and that the time was now right to address the discrepancy in the value of Deutsche Telekom’s shares. Following statements from SpaceX about its ambitions around the future provision of connectivity, Höttges was pragmatic, recognising that Deutsche Telekom would need to take those comments seriously while downplaying the "substitution risk” for operators by underlining the advantages high capacity terrestrial networks retain over satellite in more densely populated areas as well as in rural locations through fixed wireless access (FWA). Noting the focus on digital sovereignty within the EC and national governments, Höttges stated that he was pleased to have T-Systems in-house to capitalise on increasing demand for domestic cloud services, but added that Deutsche Telekom would not be rushing into any “stupid” or “politically-pushed” projects, potentially such as the AI Gigafactories initiative, without the prospect of good financial returns.
