Telefónica now has 4.2 million television customers, a third of them in Spain

Telefónica continues to accelerate in LTE and FTTH and in improving end-to-end quality with the priority of converting the network to “all IP”. With a capex to revenue ratio of around 16%, 2014 will become a record year for investment.

In July 2013, Telefónica began the process for the definitive transformation of the company into a digital telco through the BE MORE program, an action framework based on three basic attitudes: discover, disrupt and deliver (discover, be more disruptive and execute) and reflected in 12 key actions.

One year later, the company has already achieved tangible results from this program, including its transformation into a true video company with 4.2 million pay television customers in total, 1.4 of them in Spain through Movistar TV. A renewed commitment to pay television that is reflected in strong customer growth in this segment in the first half of 2014 – 26% more than in the same period of the previous year. Spain leads this objective after massifying video for its fiber customers, betting on high definition and new functionalities and providing its Movistar TV offer with the best Premium content, from Formula 1 to the World Motorcycle Championship or Roland Garros.

The deployment of the ultra fixed and mobile broadband network, which has made possible the integration of video in the offer, is another of the twelve focuses of this program. Telefónica continues to accelerate in LTE and FTTH and in improving end-to-end quality with the priority of converting the network to “all IP”. With a capex to revenue ratio of around 16%, 2014 will become a record year for investment.

Another of the objectives that Telefónica has focused on since the implementation of BE MORE is the promotion of mobile data. With 80% of customers receiving data packages, a smartphone penetration of 32% in its markets, a 24% annual increase in data revenue in the first half and the launch of LTE in nine markets, Telefónica continues to create value propositions in the world of data with convergent packages, flexible rates, data sharing rates or new roaming rates, among others.

The rest of the priority actions focus on issues such as the rebalancing of the value chain in the digital industry, the simplification of the operating model, the channel strategy to reach the customer, attention to companies or the transformation of information technologies (IT).

These ten actions are accompanied by two more, equally priority and global in scope, which must mark the functioning of the organization internally and externally: the renewal of the talent of the workforce, through the recognition of professional merit, and also programs such as Talentum; and, on the other hand, the reinforcement of Telefónica's public positioning as a leading and active agent in the Internet environment. For this reason, at the end of 2013 it launched the Digital Manifesto, which includes the company's public policy recommendations to improve the Internet experience and promote greater investments in digital infrastructure.

All of these initiatives, with the customer as the center of this new digital world, have been implemented globally and have given rise to specific projects in all the countries where Telefónica operates. The actions also have a direct reflection on a sustained improvement in the company's results in organic terms. In the second quarter financial data that the company has just announced, organic revenue growth (for the fifth consecutive quarter) of 1.4% in the first half of the year has been reported.

In short, the BE MORE program, reflected in these 12 priorities and completed with many other initiatives that are being developed at the local level, is being the way to consolidate Telefónica as an increasingly digital company, with a sustainable business model based on growth and efficiency.