Vodafone has spent recent years heavily focused on constraining cost – despite fiber and 5G expansion – and preserving cashflow. Its priorities have been to streamline and centralize its processes and procurement, to leverage its international scale better; to unlock value buried in infrastructure assets, notably with the creation and IPO of Vantage Towers; and to try to align 5G capex with the potential of each market, rather than taking the old build-and-they-will-come approach of Vodafone’s heyday in the 3G era. Following the announcement of its full year results, Vodafone surprised investors by talking about an increase in capex, though almost entirely focused on its largest market, Germany, and on further developing centralized group functions and platforms. In fiscal 20/21,…