Vodafone IoT adds Skylo as EMEA operators invest and expand

Vodafone IoT’s Managed Connectivity Platform already connects more than 240 million devices worldwide. A partnership with Skylo now extends the operator’s managed portfolio into satellite-based NB-IoT.

How does Vodafone IoT extend into satellite connectivity?

Following successful trials in Europe and North America, Vodafone IoT is offering Skylo’s service to its customers. Vodafone IoT and Skylo say integrating their network cores lets devices switch “seamlessly” between cellular and satellite networks.

The handoff uses a Vodafone standard global SIM, and the service will be managed centrally through Vodafone IoT’s Managed Connectivity Platform. “Seamless” is the companies’ wording; the commercial offer combines the integrated cores, SIM and central platform.

Target sectors include asset tracking, logistics, maritime, agriculture, mining and remote energy infrastructure. Vodafone IoT has maintained a roaming relationship with Inmarsat, now part of Viasat, since 2016. The difference with Skylo and a similar Iridium agreement lies in standards-based satellite technology, which the companies say offers advantages over legacy proprietary systems.

What does the UK FTTP data show?

Point Topic’s latest broadband research put FTTP coverage at 85.5% of UK premises in the third quarter. Of the 1.2 million premises that gained access for the first time, around 70% already had service from at least one other FTTP network. The figures point to substantial overbuilding as coverage expands.

Openreach’s FTTP footprint reached 23.5 million premises, up 3% quarter on quarter. That was slightly faster than the 2.8% recorded in Q2 2026, but below 6.3% in Q1 2026.

CityFibre remained the largest FTTP altnet by footprint at 4.27 million premises. Netomnia You Fibre followed with 3.35 million, and Nexfibre had 2.63 million. Point Topic said smaller networks recorded the strongest growth.

What are Deutsche Telekom’s latest priorities?

Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges said he takes SpaceX seriously as a new mobile-network competitor in the United States. His comment came as the carrier reported third-quarter earnings.

Deutsche Telekom is also expanding its Munich “AI factory” after demand for its services exceeded existing capacity. Additional GPUs from Nvidia’s latest Blackwell Ultra Generation (B300) will join the existing Nvidia Blackwell B200 systems. The additions will double the number of chips in this class at the operator.

CEO Tim Höttges said: “The world must take Europe seriously. Powerful AI emerges from the interplay of computing capacity, secure data spaces, high-performance connectivity, and a sovereign, secure environment.” At its investor day last month, investors appeared unconvinced by Höttges’s enthusiasm for AI.

What are MTN, Ooredoo and DNA reporting?

• MTN Group (South Africa): Service revenue for the nine months to September 30 rose 17.2% to ZAR176.2 billion ($10.7 billion), while EBITDA increased 22.9% to ZAR86.0 billion ($5.2 billion). MTN cited resilient demand for data and connectivity, momentum in Nigeria and Ghana, and growing contributions from Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. It agreed to buy IHS Towers for $6.2 billion.
• Middle East operator Ooredoo: Ooredoo and Bango will develop subscription bundling across the operator’s markets. Its operating companies can use Bango’s Digital Vending Machine (DVM) for subscription bundles. The platform is intended to manage the bundling lifecycle and reduce the complexity of combining multiple content providers and consumer offers.
• Finnish operator DNA: Public bodies in and around Lahti have selected DNA as a public-sector telecom services provider. The contract covers 24 public-sector organizations and, alongside standard voice, enables features such as the AI Tulkki interpreter.

The next milestones are industrial adoption of the Vodafone-Skylo service, commissioning of Deutsche Telekom’s added B300 capacity, wider use of Bango’s DVM across Ooredoo and DNA’s Lahti implementation. MTN’s $6.2 billion agreement to buy IHS Towers adds a infrastructure commitment. With no common deadline attached to these initiatives, rollout and investment timetables will show which plans become sustained services.