If Vodafone IoT is a success as an independent firm, other operators will also spin off IoT divisions

Vodafone moved its IoT connectivity division into a separate company in April 2024. The new Vodafone IoT becomes, in essence, an MVNO and should benefit from the positives of being an MNO and of being an MVNO, but the new structure will also create disadvantages. On balance, we believe that the benefits will outweigh the disadvantages.

The IoT divisions of many (if not most) mobile operators are subscale, often with well under 10 million connections. These operators should consider spinning off their IoT units and merging them with the IoT units of other MNOs to gain scale and benefit from the advantages that Vodafone IoT will realise.