Telefónica facts for kids
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Headquarters in Madrid, Spain
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| Sociedad Anónima | |
| Traded as | BMAD: TEF NYSE: TEF (ADR) |
| ISIN | ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=ES0178430E18 ES0178430E18] |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor | Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España (CTNE) |
| Founded | 19 April 1924 |
| Headquarters |
Distrito Telefónica, Madrid
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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José María Álvarez-Pallete (Chairman and CEO) |
| Products |
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| Revenue |  €39.2 billion (2021) |
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Operating income
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 €13.5 billion (2021) |
| €10.7 billion (2021) |
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| Total assets | €109.2 billion (2021) |
| Total equity | €28.6 billion (2021) |
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Number of employees
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104,150 (2021) |
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Telefónica, S.A. is a big Spanish company that provides phone and internet services. Its main office is in Madrid, Spain. It's one of the largest phone and mobile network providers in the world.
Telefónica offers services like home phones, mobile phones, fast internet, and TV subscriptions. It operates in many countries across Europe and the Americas. Besides the Telefónica name, it also uses brands like Movistar, O2, and Vivo.
Contents
History of Telefónica
Telefónica started in Madrid in 1924. It was first called Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España (CTNE). A company called ITT was one of its first major owners.
In 1945, the Spanish government bought a large part of the company, owning almost 80%. This ownership changed over time.
Until 1997, Telefónica was the only phone company in Spain. Even after other companies joined the market, Telefónica remained very strong. Today, Telefónica works in more than 20 countries in Europe and America.
In 2023, a company from Saudi Arabia, STC Group, became the biggest owner of Telefónica shares. Later in 2023, the Spanish government also announced plans to buy a part of Telefónica.
Who Owns Telefónica?
Telefónica is a company whose shares can be bought by anyone. It has over 1.5 million direct shareholders, which are people or companies who own a small part of it. Its shares are traded on stock markets in Spain, London, New York, and other cities.
Because Telefónica is seen as a very important company for Spain's defense and strategy, the Spanish government has a say in who can buy large parts of it.
Here are some of the main owners:
- BlackRock: 6.702%
- Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA): 4.87%
- Société Générale: 5.774%
- CaixaBank: 3.5%
- Norges Bank: 1.355%
- STC Group: 4.9%
Telefónica's Operations Around the World
Telefónica provides its services in many different countries.
Operations in Europe
Austria
In 2022, Telefónica bought a company called BE-terna. This company helps businesses with cloud services and software. This deal helped Telefónica grow its services and reach more places in Europe.
Spain
Telefónica is one of the largest companies in Spain. It uses the Movistar and O2 names. Movistar is the biggest provider of internet and phone services (both mobile and home phones) in Spain.
Telefónica has a very large fiber optic internet network in Spain. This network uses special cables for super-fast internet.
Germany
Telefónica used to own Telefónica Deutschland, which had two internet companies. These companies merged in 2003.
In 2006, Telefónica bought O2, a mobile phone company based in the UK that also operated in Germany. Telefónica then combined its German businesses with O2 Germany to create Telefónica Germany.
In 2014, Telefónica Germany bought another mobile company called E-Plus. This made their combined network the largest in Germany by number of customers.
United Kingdom
In 2005, Telefónica bought O2, a mobile phone company in the UK. O2 kept its name and its main office in the UK.
In 2020, Telefónica and Liberty Global (which owns Virgin Media) decided to combine their businesses in the UK. This created a new big company called Virgin Media O2 in 2021. Telefónica now owns half of this new company.
France
Since 2011, Telefónica has worked with a French company called Bouygues Telecom. They offer phone and internet services to large international companies together.
Operations in the Americas
Telefónica uses the Movistar brand for mobile phones across Latin America and the Vivo brand in Brazil. It is the largest mobile operator in countries like Chile, Venezuela, Brazil, and Peru. Telefónica plans to sell some of its Latin American businesses to focus on its main markets in the UK, Spain, Germany, and Brazil.
Argentina
Telefónica owns Telefónica de Argentina, which is the biggest home phone company in Argentina. It offers internet, local, and long-distance phone services. The mobile phone business in Argentina is run by Movistar, which is part of Telefónica.
Brazil
Brazil is a very important country for Telefónica's home phone services in South America. It also owns most of Vivo, a mobile phone company in Brazil. Telefónica bought Vivo in 2010.
In 2009, a Brazilian agency told Telefónica to stop selling its "Speedy" internet service for a while. This was because of several internet outages. The agency wanted Telefónica to improve its network.
Chile
Telefónica owns Telefónica Chile, which used to be called CTC. It is the biggest home phone and internet provider in Chile. In 2009, Telefónica Chile changed its name to Movistar for all its services, including mobile, home phone, and TV.
Colombia
In 2006, Telefónica bought a large part of Colombia Telecomunicaciones (TELECOM), a state-owned phone company. This made Telefónica the biggest home phone company in Colombia. Its mobile business there uses the Movistar brand.
Costa Rica
Telefónica started its services in Costa Rica in 2011 under its Movistar brand.
Dominican Republic
In 2000, Telefónica bought a part of a company called Tricom.
Ecuador
Telefónica started its mobile services in Ecuador in 2004 under the Movistar name. It is one of the main mobile phone companies in Ecuador.
Panama
Telefónica began operating in Panama in 2004, also using the Movistar name for mobile services. It offers 3G and 4G LTE internet services.
Peru
Telefónica has been in Peru since 1994 and owns the largest home phone company there. It offers local, long-distance, and internet services. The mobile phone business uses the Movistar name.
Puerto Rico
Telefónica has a presence in Puerto Rico through several of its business units, offering services to companies. Its Movistar mobile service was sold in 2007.
Venezuela
In 2004, Telefónica took over Telcel Bellsouth, which was the largest mobile operator in Venezuela. It later changed the brand to Movistar and has been improving its mobile network there.
Operations in Asia
China
In 2009, Telefónica and China Unicom, a Chinese phone company, agreed to own parts of each other's companies. They also started working together on new technologies like the "internet of things" (IoT). This allows their customers to use IoT devices in China, Europe, and Latin America with one special SIM card.
Past Operations
Czech Republic
In 2005, Telefónica bought Český Telecom, the main phone company in the Czech Republic. It also got Eurotel, a mobile phone company. These companies merged and were renamed Telefónica O2 Czech Republic. Later, Telefónica sold its part of the company in 2013.
Slovakia
In 2006, Telefónica became the third mobile phone operator in Slovakia, using the O2 brand. It started offering services in 2007. This company was also sold along with the Czech Republic operations.
Ireland
Telefónica bought O2 in Ireland as part of its purchase of O2 UK in 2005. Telefónica Ireland became the second largest mobile phone company in Ireland. In 2013, Telefónica sold its O2 Ireland business to Hutchison Whampoa.
Italy
Telefónica used to own a part of Telco, a company that controlled a share of Telecom Italia, Italy's former government-owned phone company. Telefónica later sold its shares in Telecom Italia.
Central and South America
Telefónica bought BellSouth's operations in Guatemala, Panama, and Ecuador in 2004. These were later rebranded to Movistar.
In 2019, Telefónica sold its operations in Guatemala and El Salvador to América Móvil. It also sold its businesses in Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua to Millicom. These sales helped Telefónica focus on its bigger markets and reduce its debt.
Telefónica's Sponsorships
Telefónica supports various sports teams and events.
Cycling
Since 2011, Telefónica has sponsored the Spanish cycling team known as Movistar Team.
Football
Telefónica is an official sponsor for several national football teams. These include the Spain team (through Movistar+) and teams in the Americas like Brazil (through Vivo), Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela.
Rugby
O2, a brand owned by Telefónica, is the main sponsor of the England national rugby team.
Motor Sports
Telefónica, through its Movistar brand, was the main sponsor for the Yamaha Motor Racing motorcycle team in MotoGP from 2014 to 2018. It also sponsored other motorcycle teams in the past.
In Formula One racing, Telefónica sponsored the Minardi F1 Team and the Renault F1 Team. It also sponsored the Spanish Grand Prix race.
In the World Rally Championship, Telefónica sponsored the SEAT Sport WRC Team and the Ford WRC Team.
Investments and Collaborations
Telefónica supports new technologies like Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV), which combines regular TV with internet applications.
Telefónica has a program called Wayra. It started in 2011 to invest in and help new small companies grow. Wayra has supported over 300 companies.
Telefónica also helped develop Firefox Hello, a feature in the Firefox web browser that allows free online video and voice chats.
In 2017, Telefónica and Nokia agreed to work together to develop new technologies for 5G mobile networks.
Challenges and Fines
Telefónica has faced some challenges and received fines in the past. These fines were for things like unfair competition and using its strong position in the market in ways that were not allowed.
For example, the European Commission ordered Telefónica to pay a large fine in 2007. This was because its actions in the Spanish internet market were seen as harmful to customers and businesses.
Some customer groups in Spain have also reported problems with canceling Telefónica's internet services, saying there were unnecessary delays or that they were still billed after canceling. Telefónica says these procedures are to protect customers.
Network Neutrality Stance
In 2010, Telefónica's CEO, Cesar Alierta, said that his company might charge companies like Google for using their network. He felt that these companies were benefiting from Telefónica's network without helping to pay for its costs.
Innovation Efforts
In 2017, Telefónica launched something called OnLife Networks. This was meant to bring new ideas and innovation into the company.
See also
In Spanish: Telefónica para niños
- Movistar
- List of telephone operating companies
- List of telecommunications regulatory bodies
- List of mobile network operators
