About Telefónica > Where we operate

The geographical balance of our business, combined with the convergence of services and technologies, explains the organisational structure based on three geographical regions: Spain, Europe and Latin America.

With a global customer base of more than 260 million, Telefónica is the world's largest integrated operator by customer accesses.

Telefónica is the leader in the Latin America telecommunications market, and also enjoys a significant footprint in Europe.

In Europe, we are present in nine, key European markets. Where our 89,000 employees provide fixed, mobile and broadband services to more than 92 million customers.

Telefónica España

Our core activity is the exploitation of fixed and mobile telephony and broadband in Spain.

Telefónica España continues to drive market growth, consolidating its competitive positioning. At the end of September 2008, Telefónica España managed 47.2 million accesses, a year-on-year increase of 3.3%, boosted by the 4.5% year-on-year growth in wireless customers to over 23.4 million and 16.8% growth in retail internet broadband accesses to over 5.1 million in the wireline business.

Telefónica España uses movistar as its commercial brand, in Spain.

Telefónica Europe

Telefónica Europe is a business division of Telefónica comprising mobile, fixed, and DSL operations in the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. With the exception of Isle of Man, all the operating businesses use 'O2' as their consumer brand.

Telefónica Europe also has 50% ownership of the UK and Irish Tesco Mobile and German Tchibo Mobilfunk joint venture businesses. Telefónica Europe is headquartered in Slough, UK, and has 44.9 million mobile and fixed customers.

Telefónica Latinoamérica

Our main activity is the exploitation of fixed, mobile and broadband services in Latin America, where it has achieved a presence in all of the key markets.

In the third quarter of 2008, Telefónica registered a solid growth in customer accesses managed in Latin America to 153.1 million, thanks to the strong growth in mobile telephony, with a year-on-year increase of 21.1%, reaching nearly 118.3 million mobile accesses, and the sustained increase in broadband accesses exceeding 5.9 million, driven by the commercial effort made by all operators.

It offers services in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, United States, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. It also runs the Telefónica office in China and the alliance with China Netcom.

Telefónica's commercial brands in Latin America comprise movistar and terra.

Alliances

Telefónica is widening its horizons for growth through strategic and industrial alliances.

The company owns a 7.2%* stake in China Netcom. In a country of 1,300 million inhabitants - there is huge growth potential for the ICT sector. China Netcom achieved 131 million accesses as of March 2008. In terms of forecast, it's expected that 21% of worldwide telecom revenues growth will be generated in China, between 2007-2010**.

Telefónica, through joining forces with Telecom Italia, is part of the largest telecom alliance in Europe with a 19% market share.

Telefónica is also the second largest shareholder of Portugal Telecom with a 9.6% holding.

 

* 2.2% pending of regulatory approval. Additionally, Telefonica announced last 4th of September the acquisition of a 5.74% of China Netcom (the total stake would represent a 5.5% of the new China Unicom after its merger with China Netcom).

** Yankee Group Forecast, October 2007.