II. Telefonica Overview
Telefonica is a telecommunications company currently providing services to over 218 million customers worldwide. Previous to its incorporation in 1924, Telefonica was supported by a small group of individuals and small French and Spanish companies run by the government. During this time, Telefonica suffered inefficiency under strict governmental regulations, and their manual systems proved to be incompatible throughout Spain. The ineffective phone service situation in Spain was clearly failing, so the Spanish government decided to grant one single body the responsibility to service all of Spain; Telefonica was this chosen body.
Since this decision in 1924, Telefonica has grown and succeeded tremendously. The couple decades following 1965, and the technological advancement of satellites and data transmission, aided in Telefonica’s growth as the company’s telephone installments increased to 3.5 million. In the 1990’s, the company expanded their global presence past Europe into Latin America; there they are the telecommunications leader, providing service to 126 million users.
The new millennium presented many numerous business opportunities that allowed the company to further its global growth. In 2005, they acquired English company O2, whose operations are represented in Telefonica’s consolidated financial statements as of February 2006. They also acquired Cesky Telecom—a leading provider in Czech Republic—and in 2006 merged with Colombia de Tellecommunicaciones in Latin America.
Starting in 2004, in two short years Telefonica doubled its size in customers, employees, market share and assets. Now in 2007, it currently boasts presence in 23 countries. It has three distinct busines ...