Telefónica

Telefónica S.A. (, ) is a Spanish telecommunications company. Operating mainly in Spain and Latin America it is one of the largest fixed-line and mobile telecommunications companies in the world, 4th in terms of number of clients and 6th in total market value.

Created in 1924, until liberalization of the telecom market in 1997 Telefónica was the only telephone operator in Spain and still holds a dominant position, over 75% in 2004. Since 1997 the Spanish government has privatised its interest in the company.

Key operations

Europe

Spain

Telefónica is the largest corporation in Spain. It owns Telefónica de España which is the largest fixed phone and ADSL operator in Spain, Telefónica Moviles the largest mobile phone operator in Spain (under the movistar brand), Terra Networks, S.A. an internet subsidiary and Telefónica Publicidad e Información publisher of the Spanish Yellow Pages.

Czech Republic

In 2005, Telefónica bought Český Telecom, the former state-owned Czech phone operator which still dominates the Czech fixed-line market. As part of this deal Telefónica also gained Eurotel, the largest mobile phone operator in the Czech Republic.

United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Germany and Isle of Man

On 26th January 2006 Telefónica completed its £17.7 billion (€ 25,7 billion) acquisition of the UK-based operator O₂ which provides mobile phone services in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Germany and Isle of Man (where it also operates a small number of fixed-line services). As part of the takeover deal these services will continue to use the O₂ brand and be based in the UK.

Telefónica is also the owner of Telefónica Deutschland and Telefónica UK, two alternative IP carriers which provide of the merger of two ISPs, Telefónica subsidiaries, 'mediaWays' and 'HighwayOne' merged in January 2003, purchased by Telefónica in 2001 and February 2002 respectively.

Latin America

Telefónica operates the movistar mobile phone brand throughout Latin America. In Mexico it is the second largest mobile phone operator and the largest in Chile, Venezuela and Peru. See movistar article for complete country list.

Argentina

Telefónica owns Telefónica de Argentina ^* which is the largest fixed-line operation in the country. It provides broadband, local and long distance telephone services in southern part of the country as well as the Great Buenos Aires area. The Telefónica Group has been in the country since 1990. The mobile business is run by Telefónica Móviles through movistar, a local subsidiary.

Brazil

Telefónica's largest fixed-line operation in Latin America is in Brazil where it provides broadband, local and long distance telephone services in the São Paulo state. It also jointly owns the Brazilian wireless operator Vivo with Portugal Telecom. The Telefónica Group has been in the country since 1996 when it acquired CRT, a fixed-line and mobile operator in the southern part of the country. The landline division is currently part of Brasil Telecom. Telefónica is the parent of Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo S.A..

Chile

In Chile Telefónica owns CTC (Compañía de Teléfonos de Chile) which is the biggest fixed-line operator and internet service provider [http://www.tie.cl/ in the country. The Telefónica Group has been in the country since 1989. The mobile business is run by Telefónica Móviles through a local subsidiary.

Peru

The Telefónica Group has been in the country since 1994 and owns the largest fixed-line operator in the country. The local subsidiary offers local, long distance and broadband services nationwide. The mobile business is run by Telefónica Móviles through a local subsidiary.

Telefónica is the owner of Cable Mágico (Cable Television Operator)Cable Mágico

Colombia

In April 18, 2006, Telefónica's president Cesar Alierta signs an agreement with the Colombian government to buy the 50% and one share of the state-property communications company Colombia Telecomunicaciones (TELECOM). With this sell, Telefónica becomes the Colombian biggest fixed-line operator, and also gains an important presence in the local, long-distance and broadband services. The mobile business is run by Telefónica Moviles through the brand movistar. It's unknown what's going to happen with their previous established subsidiary Telefónica Empresas, being most probable a merge with TELECOM. It's also unknown if there's going to happen a change of corporative name and image or if the company is going to be still named TELECOM.

Puerto Rico

Telefonica in Puerto Rico has presence through Telefonica Empresas and Telefonica Larga Distancia. There is another "Telefonica" in Puerto Rico: PRT (Puerto Rico Telephone), the main telecommunications provider in the island, mostly owned by Verizon Communications. PRT is popularly and commonly referred as "Telefonica" because for many years it was marketed as: "Nuestra Telefonica" or "Telefonica de Puerto Rico", long time before Telefonica (of Spain) entered the puertorican market. Telefonica (of Spain) participates in a "joint venture" with Newcomm Wireless called "Movistar". Although it has the same name as Telefonica's international wireless company, it is treated as a completely different company. Movistar Puerto Rico uses the CDMA wireless standard, widely used in the United States; Movistar in the rest of the world uses the GSM standard. The logo and culture of the company is different from her Spanish relative.

China

Telefónica has a 9.9% stake in China Netcom as of 2006.Shenzhen Daily. September 7, 2005. Telefonica Takes Netcom Stake to 5%

Africa

Morocco

Telefonica also has a stake in the second Moroccan operator , Méditel.

Ownership

Telefónica is a publicly owned company. It is estimated that a large part of its stock is owned by capital investment funds. Major stockholders include:

JPMorgan Chase: 10.02%
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA): 5.62%
Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona ("La Caixa"): 5.37%
Citibank: 4.66%
Capital Group: 3.60%

Sponsorship

Telefonica is a major sponsor of the Renault F1 Team. Through its acquisition of O₂ Telefonica also indirectly sponsors the BMW Sauber. F1 Racing estimates these sponsorships amount to $18 million and $15 million respectively.

References

External links

Official company website (English-language pages)
English distributor website
Yahoo! - Telefónica, SA Company Profile

Companies of Spain | Companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

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