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O2 (typeset as O2) is a global brand name owned by the Spanish telecommunications company
Telefónica , S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company with registered office and headquarters located in two different places, both in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the ...
. The company uses the O2 brand for its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Germany. Since 2018, it is also used as an online-only flanker brand in Spain. Formerly, all European branches of Telefónica were managed by Telefónica Europe plc, a
broadband In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide-bandwidth (signal processing), bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Inter ...
and
telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...
s company. The company originated as a collection of worldwide telecommunications companies, known in the later half of the 1990s as BT Wireless, and a global mobile data business known then as Genie Internet, both subsidiaries of British Telecommunications (British Telecom or BT). As part of a reorganisation of Telefónica in 2014, Telefónica Europe's holdings and operations became direct subsidiaries of its parent: Telefónica S.A. Telefónica Europe provided
mobile telephony Mobile telephony is the provision of wireless telephone services to mobile phones, distinguishing it from fixed-location telephony provided via landline phones. Traditionally, telephony specifically refers to voice communication, though th ...
operations in the United Kingdom and Germany, and licensed its brand to former operations in the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. O2 has additionally established a joint venture with
Tesco Mobile Tesco Mobile Limited is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. It is operated by British retailer Tesco, using the network O2 as its carrier except in Ireland, where the networ ...
in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and in Slovakia, and the Tchibo Mobilfunk network in Germany.


History


1985–2001: BT Wireless era


United Kingdom

Cellnet was launched in January 1985 as a subsidiary of ''Telecom Securicor Cellular Radio Limited'', a 60:40 venture between British Telecommunications (British Telecom or BT) and Securicor respectively. In , BT purchased Securicor's shares in Cellnet for £3.15 billion. The company was later rebranded as BT Cellnet, and it became a part of ''BT Wireless'', a group of subsidiary companies owned by BT. BT invested £2 billion in BT Cellnet, and in , BT Cellnet had over 6 million customers. In , at a general meeting held in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, 4.297 billion BT shares voted in favour of BT Cellnet's demerger from BT, with 0.67 million shares voting against. In 2001, BT Cellnet demerged from BT as ''mmO2 plc'', and was relaunched on 1 May 2002 using the O2 brand. The company changed its name from mmO2 to ''O2 plc'' in March 2005. In 2021 it merged with
Virgin Media Virgin Media Limited is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 ...
to form
Virgin Media O2 VMED O2 UK Limited, trading as Virgin Media O2, is a British mass media and telecommunications company based in Reading, England. The company was formed in June 2021 as a 50–50 joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica through ...
.


Republic of Ireland

Digifone was created in 2000, as the demerged mobile business of the prior
Esat Digifone Telefónica Ireland was a broadband and telecommunications provider in Ireland that traded under the O2 brand (typeset as O2). O2 Ireland was previously called Esat Digifone when it was owned by Esat Telecommunications (and Telenor) from 199 ...
which had just been purchased by BT. Esat Digifone was originally a joint venture between Esat Telecom and Telenor. After the acquisition of Esat Telecom by BT, the
Telenor Telenor ASA ( or ) is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwi ...
share in Esat Digifone was also acquired by BT. Subsequently, the fixed operations, Esat Telecom later became BT Ireland and the demerged mobile operations, rebranded without the ''Esat'' name as Digifone, became a part of the newly formed separate company, ''mmO2'' plc. Digifone became O2 Ireland in 2001 as a subsidiary of mmO2 plc following the demerger from BT. O2 Ireland became a subsidiary of
Telefónica , S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company with registered office and headquarters located in two different places, both in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the ...
in 2006, after its parent company O2 in the United Kingdom was purchased. In June 2013,
Hutchison Whampoa Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) was an investment holding company based in Hong Kong. It was a Fortune Global 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL was an international corporation with a dive ...
announced it would acquire the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
arm of O2 for €780m. O2 was merged into Hutchison Whampoa's subsidiary
Three Ireland Three Ireland (Hutchison) Limited (formerly Hutchison 3G Ireland Limited), commonly known as 3 Ireland or Three Ireland, is a telecommunications and Internet service provider operating in Ireland as a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings, oper ...
in March 2015.


Germany

Viag Interkom was created in 1995 as a joint venture of the German power supply firm VIAG (45%), British BT Group (then called British Telecommunications) (45%) and Norwegian
Telenor Telenor ASA ( or ) is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwi ...
(10%) in order to compete for official licence to provide services in the rapidly liberalising German (fixed and mobile) telecommunications market at that time. In 2001 BT acquired VIAG's share (owned by German energy company E.ON) for €11.4 billion following the German UMTS licence auction the previous year. Viag Interkom's mobile operations were transferred into the BT Wireless family and the fixed business became BT (Germany) GmbH & CO. Viag Interkom became O2 Germany as a subsidiary of mmO2 plc in 2001, following the demerger from BT.


The Netherlands

Telfort was created in March 1997 as a 50:50 joint venture between BT and Nederlandse Spoorwegen (the Dutch national railways operator) and headquartered in Amsterdam. Telfort was awarded a licence by the government of the Netherlands to provide fixed telecommunications services in November of that year, and a mobile licence was awarded the following year. In 2000, the mobile operations of Telfort became a part of the BT Wireless family. Telfort became O2 Netherlands as a subsidiary of mmO2 plc in 2001, following the demerger from BT. In 2003, O2 sold the company to Greenfield Capital Partners which reverted the company back to the Telfort name. Telfort eventually became a wholly owned subsidiary of
KPN Koninklijke KPN N.V. (Royal KPN N.V. in English), trading as KPN is a Dutch List of telephone operating companies, telecommunications company. KPN originated from a government-run postal, telegraph and telephone service and is based in Rotterda ...
.


Isle of Man

Manx Telecom was demerged from BT as part of the mmO2 flotation in 2001. Unlike some of the company's counterparts, the fixed and mobile arms of Manx Telecom were not split prior to the demerger, which meant that Manx Telecom was the mmO2 group's only fixed operation at the time. After the demerger from BT in 2001, Manx Telecom continued to trade under its brand as a subsidiary of mmO2 plc. On 4 June 2010, Manx Telecom was sold to UK private equity investor HG Capital (who were buying the majority stake), alongside telecoms management company CPS Partners. HG Capital indicated that the
enterprise value Enterprise value (EV), total enterprise value (TEV), or firm value (FV) is an economic measure reflecting the market value of a business (i.e. as distinct from market price). It is a sum of claims by all claimants: creditors (secured and unsecure ...
of the deal was £158.8 million ($232.5 million).


Genie Internet and Genie Asia

Genie Internet Ltd and Genie Asia were created as autonomous but wholly owned subsidiaries of BT in 2000. By the time it became a part of the BT Wireless family of companies in 2001, Genie had mobile portal operations in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Japan, and an Internet MVNO operation in UK called Genie Mobile. Prior to the demerger of O2 from BT, Genie scaled back its global operations in order to align with the mobile businesses demerging with it; namely UK, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands. The Genie Asia business continued portal operations in Asia. After demerging from BT in 2001, the European Genie business became the basis of a central products and services division called 'Products O2' and the Genie Mobile business was rebranded to 'O2 Online' which continues in the UK as a mobile communications service provider tied to the O2 UK network. The Genie portal properties were rebranded O2 Active in UK, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands, and Genie Asia became O2 Asia. O2 Asia became a subsidiary of O2 UK for governance purposes.


2001–2005: mmO2 plc era

Following the demerger of British Telecommunications plc in 2001, mmO2 plc was created as the holding company for BT's former mobile network assets and was split from the rest of the company, now named
BT Group BT Group plc (formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-li ...
plc. During this period, O2 Netherlands was sold to Dutch investment group Greenfield Capital Partners in 2003. mmO2 plc was later renamed O2 plc before being taken over by Telefónica.


2006–present: Telefónica subsidiary

On 31 October 2005, O2 plc agreed to be taken over by
Telefónica , S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company with registered office and headquarters located in two different places, both in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the ...
, a Spanish telecommunications company, with a cash offer of £17.7 billion, or £2 per share. According to the merger announcement, O2 retained its name and continued to be based in the United Kingdom, keeping both the brand and the management team. The merger became unconditional on 23 January 2006. Following the completion of the acquisition in February 2006, Telefónica undertook a corporate organisational change that saw the merging of its fixed and mobile businesses in Spain, and the transfer of Telefónica's non-Spanish European telecommunications properties into the O2 brand. Thus, the Český Telecom and Eurotel operations in the Czech Republic as well as the Telefónica Deutschland business in Germany were brought into the governance of O2, which retained its UK registered public company status with its own board of directors and corporate governance structures and processes. Telefónica chose to keep their existing mobile phone operations in the rest of the world under the brand
Movistar 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 telephony, mobile services, and pay television (Movistar Plus+ ...
. This name is used in Spain and in most
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
countries, operated by a separate management team. Telefónica sold its O2 Asia subsidiary in a management buyout in 2007. O2 Asia, headquartered in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, operating in
Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
,
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
, Middle East, and
Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
n countries, for a short time developed and marketed a range of wirelessly connected PDA and
smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...
products branded Xda for both the Asian and European markets, and further such products under the "MWg" brand, short for Mobile & Wireless Group. In 2015 there were talks for
Li Ka-shing Sir Ka-shing Li (; born 29 July 1928) is a Hong Kong billionaire business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is the senior advisor for CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings, after he retired from the Chairman of the Board in May ...
, owner of the rival UK network Three, to buy the company. The following year, the European Commission blocked the takeover.


Operations

Telefónica operates its businesses under the O2 brand through its subsidiaries Telefónica UK and Telefónica Germany. Telefónica Spain uses
Movistar 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 telephony, mobile services, and pay television (Movistar Plus+ ...
as its flagship brand, while O2 is a secondary low-cost brand. Telefónica owns the Giffgaff MVNO in the United Kingdom, which uses the O2 network. In May 2020, it was reported that Telefónica and
Liberty Global Liberty Global Ltd. is a British-Dutch-American multinational telecommunications company domiciled in Bermuda, with headquarters in London, Amsterdam and Denver. Its respective legal names are Liberty Global Holdings Limited (UK), Liberty Glo ...
plan to merge the UK operations of O2 with
Virgin Media Virgin Media Limited is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 ...
, a pay-TV and broadband provider in that country, owned by Liberty Global.


Former operations


Ireland

Telefónica Ireland was providing broadband and telecommunications in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
under the O2 brand. O2 Ireland was previously called Esat Digifone when it was owned by Esat Telecommunications (and
Telenor Telenor ASA ( or ) is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwi ...
) from 1997 to 2006. O2 Ireland became part of Telefónica in 2006 as part of its purchase of O2 in the UK. In June 2013,
Hutchison Whampoa Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) was an investment holding company based in Hong Kong. It was a Fortune Global 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL was an international corporation with a dive ...
announced it would acquire the Irish arm of O2 for €780m. In March 2015, the company was merged into Hutchison Whampoa's subsidiary
Three Ireland Three Ireland (Hutchison) Limited (formerly Hutchison 3G Ireland Limited), commonly known as 3 Ireland or Three Ireland, is a telecommunications and Internet service provider operating in Ireland as a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings, oper ...
.


Czech Republic

Český Telecom was the new name given to a company previously known as SPT Telecom which was formed from the splitting off of the Czech Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications into postal and telecom sides in 1993. The company was renamed to Český Telecom in 2000 and remained a government-controlled company until its complete privatisation in 2004. Along the way, rapid modernisation of the network occurred with the help of funding and expertise of the Dutch and Swiss consortium called TelSource. In parallel to the evolution of Český Telecom, the Eurotel mobile phone business was established in 1990 in a joint venture between what was then known as the Czechoslovak telecom ministry, Bell Atlantic and US West. In 1996, GSM services were introduced, and in 2003 Český Telecom acquired full control of Eurotel. The Czech Republic government sold its remaining stake in Český Telecom (along with its Eurotel subsidiary) to
Telefónica , S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company with registered office and headquarters located in two different places, both in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the ...
in 2005 which renamed it to Telefónica O2 Czech Republic and since 2006 started to use the O2 brand for both fixed and mobile services. In 2011 company was renamed to Telefónica Czech Republic. In 2013 was announced that Telefónica would sell its stake in the company to PPF. Under the terms of the sale, the company would continue to use the O2 brand for a maximum of four years. The agreement was later extended, and the company continues under the O2 brand as of January 2024.


Slovakia

In 2002 Český Telecom founded Czech Telecom Slovakia, its subsidiary in
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
. The company was providing services for large corporations only. In 2006 the company was renamed Telefónica O2 Slovakia and won a tender for the 3rd mobile phone operator in
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
. On 2 February 2007, Telefónica O2 Slovakia started providing services in Slovakia for first customers "O2 Jednotky". On 28 February O2 launched classic services and opened first shop in Slovakia (in
Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
on Obchodná street). In 2013 it was announced that it would be sold with its parent company to PPF.


Marketing


Branding

The BT Cellnet consumer
brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
was renamed O2 – the chemical symbol for unbound
oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
– as were all the group's other businesses (other than Manx Telecom). The re-branding was designed by the Lambie-Nairn design agency, which developed the idea of the company supplying services that were essential, much the same as oxygen is essential for life. With this, the company logo and associated graphics were designed, using air bubbles to present this.


Sponsorship

O2 currently sponsor the England rugby team, and in 2003 launched a mobile video service allowing customers to download or stream video content related to the
2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...
. In 2005, Telefónica O2 extended their involvement in
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
, signing a new deal with the England rugby team and the
Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...
, as well as O2 rugbyclass and Premier Rugby Ltd for the English Premiership. Telefónica O2 also had a long-standing relationship with Arsenal F.C., being their shirt sponsor from 2002 to 2006. In 2005, a three-year deal was signed that saw Telefónica O2 become the team's exclusive Mobile Communications Partner. From 2005 to 2008, O2 sponsored the
Wireless Festival ''Wireless'' Festival is an annual rap and hip-hop music festival that takes place in London, England, which is owned and managed by Live Nation Entertainment, Live Nation. Debuting in 2005, the festival's earlier years primarily featured rock an ...
, a music festival held annually in London (and near
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
in 2006 and 2007). Telefónica O2 was the sponsor of the Cork GAA Football and Hurling teams and the Irish rugby team. The partnership with Irish rugby went interactive in 2006, when Ireland fans were offered access to daily updates from head coach Eddie O'Sullivan. In 2009, O2 launched their 'BeTheDifference' integrated advertising campaign where fans had the chance to have their names included on the O2 Rugby posters and on the Irish Rugby players' jerseys. The integrated campaign was created by O2's two Irish advertising agencies: McConnells ( above-the-line) and Brando ( below-the-line). The interactive campaign won an award at the 2009 Kinsale Sharks.


Naming rights

On 31 May 2005, Telefónica O2 acquired the naming rights for the redeveloped
Millennium Dome The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millen ...
in London from
Anschutz Entertainment Group Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc. (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports ...
(AEG). The Dome is therefore now officially known as '
The O2 The O2 (formerly known as the Millennium Dome) is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, Town square, piazzas, ...
'. The company extended their relationship with music venues in 2008 when all Academy Music venues became known as 'O2 Academies', replacing Carling as venue sponsors. For short time, the naming rights arrangements with AEG also apply in Germany, with large sport and concert venues known as O2 World in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
.


See also

* O2 Airwave


References


External links

* {{Authority control Telecommunications companies of the United Kingdom Telefónica Companies based in Slough Telecommunications companies established in 2001 2001 establishments in England