EMEA Telecoms: E& sells its Vodafone stake at a 13% premium to Xavier Niel. Our thoughts

Research evidence excerpt

EMEA Telecoms: E& sells its Vodafone stake at a 13% premium to Xavier Niel. Our thoughts

Akhil Dattani AC Europe Equity Research

(44-20) 7134-4725 10 July 2026 J P M O R G A N

akhil.dattani@jpmorgan.com

Figure 3: Starlink spent $21bn on spectrum in 2025 Figure 4: Numerous D2D operators emerging

Company Core Proposition D2D Status Key Contracts / Partners

• Purchased from Echostar in Sep-25 Vodafone (to

AT&T, Verizon, • Acquisition cost: $8.5bn cash + $8.5bn SpaceX AST SpaceMobile Mobiledirectlybroadbandto smartphones.from space Working demosvoice/video)(4G/5G 2034),Long contractdeals withwithRakuten, Vi India stocks, plus SpaceX to fund $2bn of EchoStar's AWS-4,

interest on debt through Nov'27 H-block (US)

• Will allow Starlink satellites to communicate directly Iridium Voice, messaging and tracking Not D2D; usesterminals.Iridium U.S. governmentaviationagreements;safety

with standard cellphones

portfolio;

government Viasat Satelliteandbroadband,secure communication.in-flight WiFi, home/aircraftNo D2D; terminal-basedconnectivity. maritimeMajor airlineconnectivity;connectivityand defence clients. • Purchased from EchoStar in Nov-25

• Acquisition cost: $2.6bn, paid in SpaceX stocks

and commercial launches in

Africa, Asia; strategic partnership AWS-3 (US) • AWS-3MHz uplink)licensesand areprovides“3GPPmid-bandBand 70n”capacity(~1695–1710 Lynk Global (SMS/data)Basic mobilein rural/no-towerconnectivityregions. Live SMSmarkets;D2D datain severallater. Trials with SES.

• Valuable for a balance of coverage and throughput in

a hybrid satellite-cellular network

Starlink Mass-market+ emerging D2Dhigh-speedmobile service.internet Live D2D textingmarketsin early US,EchoStar;PartnershipsairlinewithagreementsT-Mobile

Source: Company reports, Bloomberg Finance L.P.