Spain

competitive environment
In October 2006, it was Spain’s turn to enter the Orange era with the consolidation of the group’s fixed, mobile and Internet businesses previously distributed under the Amena, Wanadoo, Equant, Uni2 and France Telecom labels. In an extremely competitive landscape, the group now has the necessary capabilities and assets to meet the convergence challenge in Spain.

•    Mobile: Orange is competing with three other operators: Movistar (subsidiary of Telefonica), Vodafone and new entrant Yoigo (subsidiary of TeliaSonera). In January 2006, the Spanish regulator decided to open the mobile market to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). Only Orange, Telefonica and Vodafone have GSM and UMTS licenses.
•    Fixed / internet: the three major features of the market in 2007 were continuing mergers, with Orange's purchase of Ya.com and Vodafone's purchase of Tele2, the intensity of the competition, and the possibility for alternative operators to offer the basic fixed line service.  In fact, most of the operators are offering standard double-plays (voice + internet), which is putting pressure on prices, whereas major market operators (Orange, Telefonica, Jazztel and the cable operators) are offering triple-plays (voice + internet + TV).  

regulations
Regulator: the CMT (Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones) is in charge of the telecommunications and audiovisual sectors (excluding content). In particular, the CMT is in charge of establishing and supervising operators' specific obligations on the electronic communications markets, developing competition on the audiovisual services markets, and resolving disputes between operators. The royal decree related to the applicable markets, to network access and to phone numbers defines the procedures applicable to conducting market analyses, ex ante regulatory requirements that may be imposed on operators with significant influence on wholesale and retail markets, and conditions related to network access and interconnection.