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European MVNO Status: Best Practices, Models, and Trends

Alejandro Cadenas — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Perspective examines the current state of the European mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market, drawing on IDC’s tracking of mobile connections across the region 2021–2025. It provides a quantitative view of MVNO growth at both the aggregate European level and across the five largest national markets (Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Spain) and analyses the structural business models, positioning archetypes, and driving trends shaping the segment through 2026. It concludes with recommendations for MNOs and MVNOs on how to capture the emerging opportunities and defend against the associated competitive risks.

The MVNO segment is expanding across Europe at more than twice the pace of the wider mobile market, driven by cloud-native platforms, eSIM adoption, and a wave of new entrants from fintech, retail, and other adjacent digital sectors. But the growth is heterogeneous, and the strategic implications differ sharply for MNOs, wholesale teams, and existing MVNOs. According to Alejandro Cadenas, associate vice president, European Telco Research, IDC, “The European MVNO story of 2026 is no longer only about price competition, it is about who is best positioned to serve the increasingly specialized and cross-border demand that scaled MVNO groups and embedded-telco brands are creating. MNOs that treat wholesale as strategic, and MVNOs that evolve beyond reseller models, will define the next phase of the market.”

IDC TechScape: Worldwide Frictionless Experience-Enabling Innovation in Air Travel, 2026

Dorothy Creamer — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC TechScape maps 24 technologies shaping the frictionless airline traveler experience in 2026, organized across transformational, incremental, and opportunistic adoption phases. The study covers the full passenger journey, from booking and pre-trip planning through security, in-flight experience, luggage handling, and post-trip engagement, as well as the crew- and operations-facing technologies that directly determine whether travelers encounter a friction-free journey or a frustrating one.

“Passenger and traveler demands are at an all-time high and the opportunities for disruption and frustration lurk at every digital touch point. The airlines and travel providers that are working to support travelers with proactive and predictive engagement and operational strategies will win with contextualized and frictionless experiences every time,” says Dorothy Creamer, senior research manager, Hospitality and Travel Digital Strategies, IDC. “The constraint separating leaders from laggards in air travel is no longer which vendor relationships they hold; it is whether their data estate is mature enough to let these technologies work together and deliver on their promise.”

Wholesale Access Models and Opportunities in EMEA

Jan Hein Bakkers, Tolga Yalcin — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Perspective analyzes major trends and dynamics in wholesale access markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). It presents IDC’s view on strategic developments and market outlook.

As fiber coverage grows, the focus of operators and investors will shift to returns and network utilization.

Verizon 2Q26 Earnings: Strong Subscriber Growth, Broadband Momentum and Lower Churn Drive Improved Outlook

Jitesh Bhayani — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Verizon announced its 2Q26 financial results on July 24, 2026, reporting total operating revenue of $34.3 billion, a 0.7% year-over-year decline. The decline was driven entirely by lower equipment revenue, which fell nearly 20% year over year, reflecting longer device replacement cycles and Verizon's reduced reliance on subsidy-driven customer acquisition. In contrast, mobility and broadband service revenue increased 2.8% to approximately $23.4 billion, while total service revenue and other revenue grew 3.5% to $29.2 billion. The continued shift toward service-led growth and lower equipment dependence reflects Verizon's strategy to improve customer economics and reduce reliance on promotional activity. Supported by strong operational execution and improving customer trends, the company raised its full-year 2026 guidance for the second consecutive quarter.

For 2Q26, Verizon reported adjusted EPS of $1.30, up 6.6% from $1.22 a year earlier. Reported EPS declined to $0.92 and net income fell 22.9% to $3.9 billion, primarily due to approximately $1.8 billion in pre-tax special items, including charges related to the planned divestiture of its international wireline connectivity and managed network services business, asset rationalization initiatives, and workforce restructuring. Excluding these items, underlying performance remained strong, with adjusted EBITDA increasing 7.2% to a record $13.7 billion and adjusted EBITDA margin expanding to a record 40.1%. IDC views the divergence between reported and adjusted results as a reflection of strategic portfolio optimization rather than any weakening in core operating performance.

Cash generation remained strong in 2Q26, with cash flow from operations increasing 16.3% YoY to $10.4 billion and free cash flow rising 24.4% to $6.4 billion. First-half cash flow from operations reached $18.4 billion, up 9.9%, while free cash flow increased 16.0% to $10.2 billion. The stronger cash flow profile supported continued network investment, ongoing debt reduction, and shareholder returns. Verizon also expanded its full-year share repurchase target to up to $4.5 billion, reflecting confidence in the sustainability of its cash generation.

Reflecting strong first-half execution and improving operating trends, Verizon raised its full-year 2026 guidance for a second consecutive quarter. The company now expects mobility and broadband service revenue growth of 2.5%–3.0%, with growth accelerating through the second half of the year. Adjusted EPS guidance was increased to $4.99–$5.04, up from $4.95–$4.99 in 1Q26. Verizon also raised its outlook for cash flow from operations and free cash flow while reaffirming capital spending of $16.0–$16.5 billion. Operationally, the company continues to expect retail postpaid phone net additions in the upper half of its 750,000–1.0 million range, reinforcing management's confidence in sustained subscriber and service-revenue momentum.

AT&T 2Q26 Results: Accelerating Growth, Record Convergence, and Capital Discipline

Jitesh Bhayani — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

AT&T reported second-quarter 2026 consolidated revenue of $31.6 billion, up 2.3% year over year (YoY); adjusted EPS of $0.65, up 20.4%; and adjusted EBITDA of $12.3 billion, up 5.2%, for an adjusted EBITDA margin of 39.1%. The company added more than 1 million Advanced Connectivity customers across fiber, fixed wireless, and postpaid phone in a record quarter for combined fiber and fixed wireless net adds and accelerated its planned 2026 share repurchases to approximately $10 billion.

Samsung Pushes AI-Powered Experiences on New Smartwatches and Smartglasses at Unpacked July 2026

Ramon T. Llamas — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

At its Unpacked event in London, Samsung introduced its Galaxy Watch 9, Galaxy Watch Ultra2, and teased its upcoming AI smartglasses. The common thread across them was how artificial intelligence has become a key ingredient to the experience, with the smartwatches analyzing health and fitness data to provide actionable advice and the smartglasses capturing and organizing memories. IDC believes Samsung's announcements highlight the company's capabilities and strategy to bring AI front and center and create more personalized experiences while meeting and beating the competition at their own game.

Galaxy Unpacked July 2026: Samsung Widens the Foldable Portfolio and Braces for Apple

Francisco Jeronimo, Nabila Popal, Ramon T. Llamas — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

At Galaxy Unpacked in London on July 22, 2026, Samsung launched three foldables at the same event for the first time, in its most consequential book-style redesign in seven years: the wide, passport-format Galaxy Z Fold8 at $1,899, the taller Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra at $2,099, and the Galaxy Z Flip8 at $1,199, joined by the Galaxy Watch9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and a brief on-stage tease of Samsung's Android XR "Galaxy Glasses." Samsung is moving early to define a new book-style format on its own terms and to make higher prices stick through a memory-driven cost cycle, with the decisive test still two months away, when Apple is expected to bring foldables into the mainstream and reset the category's economics. This IDC Link covers the foldables lineup.

AI Is Widening the Asia/Pacific Connectivity Gap

Nikhil Batra — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Asia/Pacific organizations are putting AI near the top of their agenda, but their networks are less ready for it than they think. This document explores what the shift to AI means for the enterprise network across Asia/Pacific, drawing on insights from the IDC’s 2025 Asia/Pacific Enterprise Connectivity and Telecom Services Survey. It also discusses AI infrastructure priorities, AI networking challenges, partner preferences by market, and the role organizations expect providers to play.

“AI conversations generally start in the cloud — that is where the data, the models, and the compute already sit. And as a result, the hyperscalers are the first port of call for organizations,” says Nikhil Batra, Senior Research Director, Telecom. “But the moment AI has to work across clouds and sites, the network becomes the constraint, and that is the opportunity for telcos to get back into the conversation.”

European Telcos’ ICT Offering to SMB: Cybersecurity and Cloud Collaboration at the Core

Daniela Rao — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective focuses on European telcos’ cybersecurity and cloud collaboration propositions for SMBs as the most relevant components of their IT services portfolio, alongside connectivity and device offerings.

“Telcos’ success in the SMB market depends on their ability to shift from complex, fragmented tools to automated and managed capabilities delivered as an invisible, native communication service, together with support services helping them assess their digital needs and adopt the most suitable solution,” said Daniela Rao, senior research and consulting director, IDC Telecom and UC Global Team.

Market Forecast: U.S. SMB Communications Services Forecast, 2026–2030

Daniela Rao — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC presentation analyzes and forecasts the revenue for the U.S. small and medium-sized business (SMB) communications services market. The presentation provides IDC's definitions of SMB and telecom voice and data categories, and it presents a detailed forecast, beginning in 2025 and extending through 2030.

"Small and medium-sized businesses understand the necessity to invest in technologies and services that address their operational challenges, but they will continue to have limited resources. Telcos targeting SMBs should design new value-creating propositions rooted in their networks, ecosystems, AI, and analytics capabilities to address the pricing challenges with services geared to remove friction between SMBs' daily operations and digital transformation road map." — Daniela Rao, senior research and consulting director, Worldwide Telecom and UC, IDC