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We drive innovation
and the creation of technology
in order to continue projecting the future

Travel through time and find out more about our past, present and future

Discussing Telefónica’s history of innovation involves referring to a path towards creation, evolution, endeavour and technology.

At Telefónica Innovación Digital we continue to learn how the future works in order to make it a reality.

1967 / 1987

We begin to conceive the future

We laid the foundations for an innovation strategy that is still in place today.

Innovation through creativity
and the search for solutions

1967

Centre for Research and Studies

We pioneered the first technological analyses, proofs of concept and technical publications.

Technological innovation at telefónica
The time comes to make innovation a reality. We launch the product design.

1970

Design and prototyping of our first products: phones, SATAIS and modems.

HISTORY OF COMMUNICATIONS
Espacio Fundación Telefónica

1988 / 1994

The transformation of analog

We create a new company at Telefónica to promote innovation and address the progress of telecommunications.

1988
Telefónica I+D is born

The challenge to innovate
We develop our own style based on three pillars:
the generation of new ideas, continuous change management and the assumption of risks.
1989

Tesys-B

The first routers for data networks.

Leading the evolution
of public data networks
1990

Modular Public Phone

The first smart phone boxes.
1992

Future of Telecommunications Pavilion
at the Seville EXPO

A journey through time that unveils
new ways of connecting.

The Future of Telecommunications
Pavilion, 30 years on
1993

MORE

New digital exchanges
for new services.

The digital heart of
analogue exchanges

1995/ 2005

The digital revolution

We evolve the core of our business in order to connect people more and better:
we make Spain the first country in Europe in terms of Internet connections.

1995

The disruption of a telco that offers Internet.

SEE ARTICLE

Of a time and a country: Spain
at the dawn of the internet
We believed that to promote this new way of connecting we needed to be more flexible and efficient.

1997

CNSO

The National Monitoring and Operations Centre.
It remains the flagship centre for Telefónica’s network management.

Keeping an eye on the pulse
of telephone networks and services
We learnt how to use this massive network connection to transform the centre of entertainment in homes: the television.

2000

The first multimedia solution over ADSL.

Imagining television
We designed a pricing system to give our customers control over their services.

2004

Altamira

The first real-time pricing and charging platform for prepaid customers. It is still in use today in several countries where Telefónica operates.

The success story of europe's
most advanced prepayment system

2006 / 2012

The time to open up innovation

2006

Telefónica Ventures

Corporate Venture Capital
for strategic investments.

Telefónica's venture capital
comes to silicon valley
We encourage the innovation and transfer of technology that protects the intellectual property of our developments.

2008

Patent Office

The Telefónica Patent Office is created, encouraging creativity to improve our products and services.

Innovation and industrial property management
We look outwards in order to bring new ideas, new business models and the very best technology.

2010

The latest social network in Spain
joins Telefónica.

T from tuenti to telefónica
We encourage the innovation and transfer of technology that protects the intellectual property of our developments.

2011

Telefónica Digital is born

More digital and closer
to our technology partners
2011

We create our
open innovation Hub.

VISIT WAYRA

The wind that made telefónica dance
We further the development of new communications, big data, security and video consumption services.

2011

CDN

A further step for televisions in homes.

2012

The first managed connectivity platform for M2M.

SEE ARTICLE

2012

Smart Steps

The first big data product.

SEE ARTICLE

Pioneering crowd mobility analytics platform
We believed that we needed to attract outstanding talent in order to continue building.

2012

Hi, Talentum!

We are Talentum

More than a scholarship programme, a culture

2013 / 2023

The technological tsunami

Technology begins to evolve at a frenetic pace and we pledge, first and foremost, to protect people.

2013

More innovation for Telefónica’s
cybersecurity products.

Entrepreneurial mindset to globalise
the cyber security business
2013

We create our own
digital safety latch.
The data revolution begins, we discover its full potential and we learn how to exploit it.

2015

Creation of Chief Data Office

Telefónica's transformation:
from chief data office to leadership in the digital age

2015

Synergic Partners

We reinforce our data centric expertise to transform our company.
2015-2018

Router Smart WiFi

New smart routers to harness
the full power of data.

The hgu, icon of home connectivity
2016

We reaffirm our commitment to Data Driven.
We streamline our authoring processes to ensure that all our technology speaks the same language.

2017

We create the Fourth Platform

The pillar of Telefónica’s digital transformation for the development of digital services.

Kernel: the key platform in
telefónica's digital transformation
2017

Novum

We transform Tuenti into Mi Movistar.
2018

We launch Internet para todos in Perú.

FIND OUT MORE

Innovating to bridge the digital divide
We commit to the explosion of the world of smart devices and AI.

2018

Aura

“Okay, Aura, start working”

A story of innovation on the move
We reinvent the way we live at home.

2018

Movistar Home

Our first multifunctional device with a display.
2018-2021

Smart WiFi & Conexión Segura

All the connectivity of home, more secure and more accessible.

Connectivity in the home, the telephone home
2019

Living Apps

New ways of shopping, learning, connecting and enjoying ourselves with our TV.

DISCOVER THE LIVING APPS
ON MOVISTAR PLUS+
We transform our core and expand our boundaries so as to continue projecting the future.

2022

We evolve the Fourth Platform
and drive our digital heart with Artificial Intelligence.

2021

Tokens of Movistar

We reinvent the way in which we build customer loyalty.

TOKENS OF MOVISTAR

2022

Metaverse & Web3

We create a new unit
to anticipate our customers’ needs.

EXPLORE

TELECOMMUNICATIONS PARTNERSHIPS
IN THE METAVERSE

We will continue to need roads in the future
2023

Hi, Telefónica Open Innovation!

We unify all our open innovation
initiatives under Wayra’s leadership.

Open innovation: diary of a journey
We open up our heart, the network, to the entire world.

2023

Telefónica Open Gateway

All our capabilities at the service
of developers to drive a new
generation of experiences.

LEARN MORE

A future-proof network

DISCOVERING OPEN GATEWAY,
THE POWER OF THE NETWORK

Hi, Telefónica Innovación Digital!

Innovation is a path that leads to the future, and our aim is to invent it.

Hyperconnectivity

We evolve the global connection of components to streamline collaboration, co-creation and learning.

Future spaces
Generation of AI-generated contents

We help society to navigate and learn more about the new artificial media.

SEE ARTICLE

Principled technology:
a responsible ia
Advanced computing

We reinforce data privacy, security against external attacks and ethical-legal responsibility.

Quantum communication
and the networks of the future
Private Networks and Cloud-Continuum

We launch ImagineB5G to make the network more accessible and secure with end-to-end programmability.

SEE ARTICLE
AI applied to cybersecurity

We develop SPATIAL: a commitment to data privacy, security against external attacks and ethical-legal responsibility.

SEE ARTICLE
Immersive experiences

The Metaverse offers new formats and consumer experiences with AR/VR, volumetric production and avatars.

SEE ARTICLE

“Technology is made by people”

Julio Linares

Honorary President of Telefónica Innovación Digital

“Useful and service-focused technology for our customers”

Enrique Blanco

Telefónica Global CTIO

Our entire history is written by our people.

The tireless dedication of our company’s professionals and their courage and passion for technology are the keys to the success of this journey.

Our mistakes and our learnings are proof that we’ve never stopped making things happen.

Find out more about our history of innovation.

Download book

We continue thinking, we continue dreaming.

Do you want to know more about Telefónica's innovation book?

Ask Aura!

We drive innovation
and the creation of technology
in order to continue projecting the future

The power of connections

We begin to conceive the future

The transformation of analog

The digital revolution

The time to open up innovation

The technological tsunami

Hi, Telefónica Innovación Digital!

Innovation is a path that leads to the future, and our aim is to invent it.

“Technology is made by people”

“Useful and service-focused technology for our customers”

The power of connections

We drive innovation and the creation of technologyin order to continue projecting the future

The power of connections

We begin to conceive the future

The transformation of analog

The digital revolution

The time to open up innovation

The technological tsunami

Hi, Telefónica Innovación Digital!

Innovation is a path that leads to the future, and our aim is to invent it.

“Technology is made by people”

“Useful and service-focused technology for our customers”

The power of connections

We drive innovation
and the creation of technology
in order to continue projecting the future