The birth of a telecoms giant
The UK’s telecommunications sector entered a new chapter in mid-2025, as Vodafone UK and Three UK officially merged, forming VodafoneThree – now the country’s largest mobile operator by subscriber base.
This £16.5 billion mega-merger has created a telecoms titan with over 29 million customers, promising large-scale investments and a transformed digital landscape for consumers and businesses alike.
Trading platform users have been watching Vodafone Group shares closely as the merger’s impact becomes clearer.
The new entity is projecting £700 million in annual synergies, largely driven by rationalised infrastructure and operational efficiencies.
Investors have been buying the VodafoneThree share since the merger with it currently trading at 79.66 pence, a level last seen in September 2023, up 15% year-to-date.
Investment commitments and financial outlook
VodafoneThree has pledged to invest £11 billion over the next decade into expanding and upgrading its 5G infrastructure, with £1.3 billion committed in its first year alone.
These investments aim to support coverage expansion, network integration, and future readiness as the company targets 99.95% UK population coverage by 2034.
While Vodafone Group’s net debt rose by £1.7 billion as a result of the merger, the company maintains strong cash flow positions to uphold its dividend commitments.
Share trading investors should note these significant capital expenditure plans when evaluating the company’s prospects.
Spectrum rebalancing and regulatory compliance
A central issue following the merger was VodafoneThree’s dominance in licensed spectrum, initially controlling 46% of the total UK spectrum.
To satisfy regulators, VodafoneThree agreed to sell 78.8MHz of spectrum across four bands to VMO2 for £343 million, trimming its spectrum share to 39%.