Telefónica has a plan to become a giant. Has lit the alarms among local operators

The Spanish telecommunications market enters a new phase of concentration. With Masorange already underway and A possible movement between Telefónica and Vodafonethe president of the first, Marc Murtra, defends a consolidation of the sector to win scale.

But Aotec – the association that groups more than 150 local telecommunications operators – has been more than reluctant to The declared objective of Telefónica to create a “European champion”.

What has happened. During the presentation of the Congress AOTEC 2025which will be held in June in Madrid, the main representatives of the Association have raised the tone, as he has collected Digital economy. Its executive director, Gonzalo Elguezábal, has been clear:

“We are not against consolidation, but that it is forced by legal or regulatory means.”

Between the lines. AOTEC does not oppose concentration per se. What rejects is the political and regulatory thrust to facilitate great mergers, to the detriment of an alternative model that is already working:

• Small operators, with local implementation.
• Direct attention, without subcontractors.
• Physical stores that open where the big ones close.

For his part, María Jesús Cauhé, vice president of AOTEC, has valued that “close operators are generating more and more business, compared to the destruction of employment that is taking place in large operators.” A growth that, remarks, occurs especially in the rural environment.

The context. The notice is not free. In recent months, the CNMC has approved an average rise of 20% in wholesale prices of the Framework model, for which alternative operators pay Telefónica for using their infrastructure.

This measure, according to AOTEC, lacks technical and economic justification, and “can strangle the competitiveness of the sector.” The dossier has already reached the European Commission, and the association is confident for Brussels to force a review.

The pulse. Beyond prices, what is at stake is the future of the operator ecosystem. AOTEC defends a decentralized, competitive and rooted model in the territory, in front of a vision that Prioritize European concentration and scale To compete better worldwide.

Antonio García Vidal, president of the association, summarizes it as follows:

“Where others see fear, we see opportunity. The bigger they are, worse they attend.”

The contrast. While the big ones seek efficiency based on mergers, local operators put the focus in the vicinity, use of proximity and capillarity in areas where no one else wants to be.

According to AOTEC, the consolidation proposed by Telefónica does not guarantee a better service, and can translate into less real competition and more client disconnection. The Murtra Teleco is complicated by his great project. Of course there are many pages to write in that book.

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