Movistar () is a major telecommunications provider owned by Telefónica, operating in Spain and Hispanic American countries. It is the largest provider of landline, broadband, mobile services, and pay television ( Movistar+) in Spain. Movistar is the second-largest wireless carrier in Mexico, with 25.8 million subscribers as of January 2020.

History

The 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. 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 .

Countries where Telefónica operates under the Movistar brand

Mobile World Centre - 2013 - Barcelona 03

* Argentina (formerly Telefónica Unifón and Movicom BellSouth) * Chile (formerly Telefónica Móvil and BellSouth) *

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

(formerly Telefónica Telecom, Telecom, BellSouth, Cocelco, CeluMovil) * Ecuador (formerly CelularPower, BellSouth) *

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

(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) * Antarctica

Former operations

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

(acquired by América Móvil, now operating as Claro) *

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

(acquired by Liberty Latin America, now operating as LIBERTY)

Countries where Telefónica operates under other brands

* Brazil (formerly

Telesp Telesp - Telecomunicações de São Paulo S.A. was the telephony operator of the Telebrás system in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, successor to the ''Companhia Telefônica Brasileira (CTB)'', later incorporating the ''Companhia de Telecomun ...

and Telefônica, now under the Vivo brand) * Czech Republic (under the O₂ brand) * Germany (under the O₂ brand) * United Kingdom (under the O₂ brand)

The 1983 song " Walking on Sunshine" by

Katrina and the Waves Katrina and the Waves were a British rock band widely known for the 1985 hit " Walking on Sunshine". They also won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Love Shine a Light". History Pre-history (1975–1980) The band's earliest inc ...

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 New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

' 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.

References

External links

* {{navboxes , titlestyle = background:#ccccff , list= {{Mexican mobile phone companies {{Argentine mobile network operators {{Chilean mobile network operators {{Colombian mobile network operators {{Ecuadorian mobile phone companies {{Peruvian mobile network operators {{Venezuelan mobile operators Telecommunications companies established in 1995 1995 establishments in Spain Telefónica Telecommunications companies of Spain Companies based in the Community of Madrid Mobile phone companies of Chile Mobile phone companies of Colombia Mobile phone companies of Ecuador Mobile phone companies of El Salvador Mobile phone companies of Guatemala Mobile phone companies of Mexico Mobile phone companies of Spain Spanish brands Tier 1 networks