Movistar (Spanish pronunciation: [moβisˈtaɾ]) is a major telecommunications provider owned by Telefónica, operating in Spain and Hispanic American countries.[1] It is the largest provider of landline, broadband, mobile services, and pay television (Movistar Plus+) in Spain.[2] Movistar is the second-largest wireless carrier in Mexico, with 25.8 million subscribers as of January 2020.[3]
 | |
| Product type | Telecommunications |
|---|---|
| Owner | Telefónica |
| Country | Spain |
| Introduced | 25 July 1995 |
| Discontinued | |
| Related brands | O2 Vivo |
| Markets | |
| Website | movistar |
History
editThe Movistar brand has been in use in Spain since the launch of GSM services in 1995. The name became effective worldwide on April 5, 2005, after Telefónica purchased the BellSouth mobile operations branch in South America.[4] After the purchase of O2 in 2005 by Telefónica, the company announced that the «O2» brand would continue to be used in the United Kingdom and Germany, as a separate branch with its own board and management structure. Since 2011, Telefónica has sponsored a UCI ProTeam squad in cycling under the name of Movistar Team.[5]
Movistar brand by country
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- Argentina (formerly Telefónica Unifón and Movicom BellSouth)
- Chile (formerly Telefónica Móvil and BellSouth)
- Colombia (formerly Telefónica Telecom, Telecom, BellSouth, Cocelco, CeluMovil)
- Ecuador (formerly CelularPower, BellSouth)
- El Salvador (formerly Telefónica Móviles or Telefónica MoviStar)
- Mexico (formerly Cedetel, Bajacel, Movitel, Norcel, and Pegaso)
- Peru (formerly Telefónica Móviles and BellSouth)
- Spain (formerly Telefónica MoviStar)
- Uruguay (formerly Telefónica Unifón and Movicom BellSouth)
- Venezuela (formerly Telcel and Telcel BellSouth)
Former operations
edit- Costa Rica (acquired by Liberty Latin America, now operating as LIBERTY)
- Guatemala (acquired by América Móvil, now operating as Claro)[6]
- Nicaragua (acquired by Millicom, now operating as Tigo)
- Panama (acquired by Millicom, now operating as Tigo)
- Puerto Rico (acquired by Open Mobile, now operating as T-Mobile US)[7][8][9]
Other brands by country
edit- Brazil (formerly Telesp and Telefônica, now under the Vivo brand)
- Germany (under the O2 brand)
- United Kingdom (under the O2 brand)
Former operations
edit- Czech Republic (under the O2 brand, acquired by PPF and continues operating the O2 brand under license agreement with Telefónica)
- Ireland (under the O2 brand, acquired by CK Hutchison Holdings and now operating as Three due to their merger)
- Slovakia (under the O2 brand, acquired by PPF and continues operating the O2 brand under license agreement with Telefónica)
Advertisements
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The 1983 song "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves was used by Telefónica to announce the unification of all its operation brands (Telefónica MoviStar, Bellsouth, Unifon, Telefónica Moviles, Telefónica Movil, and Movicom) in Latin America and Spain under the Movistar brand after the takeover of BellSouth's Latin America division. Movistar has also used the New Radicals' hit "You Get What You Give" and "Two Princes" by Spin Doctors. Currently "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train is in advertising and other versions of the song are also used in audiovisual advertisements.
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Our Spanish-speaking customers know us as Movistar". telefonica.com. 26 February 2025.
- ↑ "La CNMC publica los datos estadísticos de telecomunicaciones" (in Spanish). cnmc.es. 5 October 2020.
- ↑ "America Movil contests $63m Mexico fine". Developing Telecoms. 28 January 2020.
- ↑ "Telefónica Buys BellSouth Unit". The New York Times. 2004-03-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ↑ "Movistar continues as title sponsor of cycling team". SportsPro. 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ↑ "Claro "compró" a Movistar en dos países latinoamericanos". Oh My Geek (in Spanish). January 24, 2021.
- ↑ Kantrow-Vázquez, Michelle (2011-03-21). "Significant transactions that changed Puerto Rico's wireless landscape in the last decade - News is My Business". newsismybusiness.com. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ Kantrow-Vázquez, Michelle (2017-01-31). "Sprint reportedly finalizing acquisition of Open Mobile - News is My Business". newsismybusiness.com. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ "BNamericas - Sprint, Open Mobile to create new player in ..." BNamericas.com. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
External links
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