With a $120 billion merger with Liberty Global (LBTYA.O) off the table, Vodafone (VOD.L) boss Vittorio Colao needs his strategy of higher network investments and acquisitions of European cable companies to start paying off, quickly. The world’s second-largest mobile operator abandoned talks with John Malone’s Liberty last week over valuation disagreements that would have seen a swap of assets or a broader merger that could have helped Vodafone, in one fell swoop, offer mobile, broadband and TV in its biggest markets.