Abstract
Spains telecommunications market is dominated by the national incumbent operator, Telefonica de Espana, which has operated since 1924. The government reduced its stake in Telefonica to 20.94% in October 1995. In January 1997, it sold the majority of its remaining stake in addition to its holding in Telefonica Internacional SA (TISA), the Telefonica subsidiary dealing with international businesses, so that Telefonica is now 100% privately-owned and TISA is 100%-owned by Telefonica. The government holds a "golden share" in Telefonica, giving it the right to accept or veto share sales and transfers.
Regulation in the industry is the responsibility of the Comision del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (Telecommunications Market Commission) or CMT, which was established by royal decree in 1996 and permitted broadcasting company Retevision to enter the telecommunications market as a fixed-line competitor to Telefonica. In April 1998, the government passed the General Telecommunications Law, bringing the Spanish telecommunications environment fully in line with European Union (EU) requirements. The General Telecommunications Law was updated in November 2003 to bring it into line with new EU directives.
Telefonica and Retevision were the only holders of fixed voice network licences in Spain until May 1998, when the CMT announced the third licence-holder as Uni2, now wholly-owned by France Telecom. Subsequently, many smaller fixed-line operators have been licensed, including JazzTel and Grupo ONO, though none have yet to seriously impact on Telefonicas market-leading position. Telefonica Moviles and Airtel Movil were the only two operators in Spain with GSM digital mobile cellular communications licences until June 1998, when the CMT awarded the third digital cellular licence to the Retevision/Telecom Italia-backed Retevision Movil consortium. [Retevision and Retevision Movil are now part of the Auna group of companies and Telecom Italia has withdrawn its investment, leaving Auna controlled by ENDESA, Union Fenosa, and Banco Santander Central Hispano.]
In March 2000, four third-generation (3G) universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) mobile licences were awarded to the three existing cellular operators with the addition of Xfera, a joint venture initially headed by Vivendi Universal of France, Sonera of Finland (now TeliaSonera), and a number of Spanish partners. During 2003, Vivendi sold its investment in Xfera, and the company is now controlled by Spanish companies and TeliaSonera.
Background
Each extensive ITI Market Intelligence Report includes the following sections: Economic, Social, Political, and Telecoms Indicators; key data presented in tabular form. Regulation; a summary/overview of the market and regulatory climate, followed by synopses of the regulators powers and other competition or ministerial bodies to which it reports or with which it co-operates. A summary of the regulations in force, a list of differences in the types of available licences and a list of the licences issued. Market Indicators; the available data is presented in tabular form with commentary and graphics. Major Operators; contact data and company information, including ownership, background where relevant for pan-European carriers, licensed activities, scope of activities/services, recent major equipment contracts, summary of network status, references to major subsidiaries, joint ventures, and alliances. Major Manufacturers; contact data and company information including ownership,
background where relevant, manufacturing & distribution activities, recent major equipment contracts, references to major subsidiaries, joint ventures, and alliances. Industry Associations; contact data and organisation information covering background where relevant, activities/objectives and references to members.
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