A common challenge for today’s telcos is delivering international connectivity that remains simple and consistent, and delivers a high-quality customer experience, even as the underlying environment has become more complex.
This challenge is particularly pronounced in services such as international roaming, international voice and IP exchange (IPX). Demand for connectivity continues to grow, driven by new technologies and use cases, while operators are under increasing pressure to improve operational effectiveness, with a focus on service quality, cost efficiencies and risk management at scale.
“Customers expect a great experience when communicating across borders, and operators need to ensure they can deliver the performance and quality expected while remaining competitive,” says Kenneth Graham, wholesale and product director at Vodafone Procure & Connect. “To achieve this, our focus has been on simplifying how international connectivity is delivered, bringing greater standardisation, scale and coordination to ensure consistent performance, transparency and effective risk management.”
Adding to this challenge, says Graham, are variations in regulation between countries, rapid technological changes, and the need to manage multiple vendors and platforms. “These factors can slow progress, and lead to inconsistent performance and customer experience across markets.”
Evolving the operating model
Against this backdrop, Vodafone Group has continued to evolve how international connectivity is delivered globally, focusing on simplifying engagement for customers and operating companies while maintaining the ability to operate effectively across diverse regulatory and market environments. A major step came a year ago, in April 2025, when Vodafone brought together its Procurement Company and Voice and Roaming Services division under the single Procure & Connect brand.
“By bringing these businesses together, we created a single, trusted partner that combines procurement scale, deep expertise and global connectivity capabilities for services including roaming, international voice and IPX,” says Graham. “In the past year, the unified brand has made it easier for customers and partners to understand the value proposition and engage with a coordinated organisation.”
Across its own teams, Vodafone Procure & Connect has continued to evolve how services are delivered, supporting scalable operating models designed to perform consistently as demand grows.
In doing all this, the company is able to leverage its extensive global footprint to maximise benefits for its customers, including mobile operators and other connectivity providers – harnessing its aggregated buying power and investing in shared platforms to avoid complexity distributed across individual markets.
And Vodafone has the scale to provide big advantages here, given its collaborations with over 700 mobile network partners, and its management of significant worldwide trading volumes across roaming and international voice.
Consistent across markets
Vodafone Procure & Connect is designed to operate across multiple countries while accommodating regulatory and operational requirements that vary by market. Rather than treating these as exceptions, compliance, security and governance are built into the operating model from the outset, according to Graham.
“We can enable regulatory requirements to be addressed in a consistent way across countries,” he says. “Our integrated approach reduces fragmentation and the need for market-by-market solutions.”
The result of all this, he adds, is a model that “delivers globally through a single operating framework, while maintaining the flexibility needed to operate responsibly across different markets”. In addition, the new brand helps to reinforce Vodafone’s position as a trusted partner that can deliver complex services reliably and transparently at scale.
The company’s aim is to evolve its services over time through further platform development and automation, enabling greater visibility and even more informed decision-making for customers.
This should help partners move with the times through Vodafone Procure & Connect’s services adapting to change.
“The aim is to help customers navigate change with confidence, while ensuring the operating model remains scalable, resilient and future-ready,” says Graham. “Partners can expect clear governance, predictable engagement and a shared focus on adapting together as international connectivity evolves.”
