The Internet of Things landscape across Europe is growing increasingly difficult to navigate, with networks shutting down and launching at uneven rates, fresh technologies arriving, and regulatory variation between member states compounding the challenge. Phil Skipper, Head of Strategy at Vodafone IoT, describes the outcome as a fragmented European connectivity market resembling a checkerboard.

What we're seeing in Europe is the landscape is becoming sort of more of a checkerboard. It's never been holistic.

Phil Skipper, Vodafone IoT

Yet customers remain largely indifferent to this underlying fragmentation. What matters to them is straightforward: connected devices that function reliably wherever they operate, without requiring knowledge of which network or technology enables that connection.

Skipper elaborates on the sources of this complexity. Telecommunications regulation itself differs across European nations, but additional layers now sit atop this baseline variation. Network deployment strategies diverge—2G infrastructure is being decommissioned while 4G expands, 5G networks build on 4G foundations, standalone 5G systems are being introduced, and satellite connectivity overlays the entire stack.

Now, our customers are less bothered about that. They just want global connectivity, wherever they go. That's really our job to orchestrate that complexity because we're experts in the telecom space, whereas our customers aren't.

Phil Skipper

From 2G to satellite

Skipper has spent over a decade at Vodafone, joining when the IoT sector was still establishing credibility. The market has transformed dramatically in that span. When he arrived, convincing stakeholders that IoT represented a genuine opportunity remained a central task.

The connectivity options available to businesses have expanded substantially. Where 2G once dominated device deployments, enterprises now select from 4G networks offering significantly higher bandwidth, low Earth orbit satellite systems, and specialised networks designed for IoT applications. These include Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), LTE for Machines (LTE-M), and Cat-M—collectively known as low-power wide-area networks, engineered specifically for IoT workloads.

This technological proliferation has transformed IoT into a substantial global sector. Vodafone IoT currently manages connectivity for more than 214 million devices spanning hundreds of networks across approximately 180 countries.

The orchestration problem

Device connectivity, however, represents only one dimension of the operational challenge. A critical layer sits above the technical infrastructure itself: orchestration.

The big operational thing that we need to deal with is this layer called orchestration over the top.

Phil Skipper

Skipper uses an umbrella metaphor to describe this function—a single unified interface that masks the complexity beneath, ensuring operations appear seamless to end users. Regulatory requirements across markets can mandate that devices rely on local infrastructure or region-specific SIM cards, introducing additional variables that operators must manage.

This orchestration challenge extends far beyond Europe's borders. Other markets impose even more stringent telecommunications regulations, creating comparable difficulties for global IoT providers. Yet the objective remains consistent: rendering these differences largely imperceptible to customers.

Tapping AI

Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming instrumental in managing this complexity, particularly as the number of potential connectivity combinations multiplies. AI systems can evaluate which network profile suits a device best, determine optimal network selection, and assign appropriate data configurations—shielding customers from underlying technical variation.

Skipper does not view AI and automation as distinct phenomena. Rather, he positions AI as the enabling technology that makes expanded automation feasible. Process automation, he argues, functions effectively when powered by AI capabilities.

AI may also unlock new possibilities for edge computing in IoT applications. Skipper identifies an emerging category of use cases he terms chaotic use cases—scenarios where systems cannot anticipate precisely what conditions they will encounter. This represents an area where IoT has historically struggled.

A more complicated European market

The fundamental issue underlying these challenges is that connectivity itself no longer stands as the sole consideration. Europe simultaneously operates multiple generations of mobile technology, while individual countries pursue distinct regulatory, sovereignty, and network deployment strategies.

This creates a heterogeneous environment where different nations maintain different network configurations, yet customers expect consistent experiences. Variability across jurisdictions drives a significant portion of operational complexity. Localisation is simultaneously becoming more prominent—devices increasingly require local infrastructure due to sovereignty concerns.

The result bears little resemblance to the straightforward device-to-network relationships that characterised earlier IoT implementations. What once involved simple one-to-one connections has evolved into a multifaceted ecosystem requiring operators to simplify inherent complexity for their customers.