Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Movistar

Telecommunication provider From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Movistar
Remove ads

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]

Quick Facts Product type, Owner ...
Remove ads

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.[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]

Remove ads

Countries where Telefónica operates under the Movistar brand

Thumb
Map of countries where the Movistar brand operates as of 2025
  Current markets
  Former markets
Thumb
Movistar stand at the Mobile World Congress.
  • 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

Remove ads

Countries where Telefónica operates under other brands

Former operations

Advertisements

Thumb
VO70 Class yacht Movistar racing in Leg 1 of the 2005 Volvo Ocean Race in Vigo, Spain

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.

Remove ads

See also

References

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads