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Telefónica Germany GmbH & Co. OHG is a provider of broadband and telecommunications in Germany. The company trades as O2 (typeset as O2) and Alice. Previously Viag Interkom, it was acquired by Telefónica in 2006, and is a subsidiary of Telefónica Europe. With the closure of merger with HanseNet on April 1, 2011 the company renamed from Telefónica O2 Germany to Telefónica Germany.
 | |
| Company type | GmbH & Co. OHG |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunication |
| Predecessor | Viag Interkom (1995) |
| Founded | British Telecommunications (45%), VIAG (45%) and Telenor (10%) |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Germany |
Key people | René Schuster, CEO |
| Services | Telecommunications Internet Service Provider |
| Revenue |  €3.745 billion (2009 |
Number of employees | 5288 (2010) |
| Parent | Telefónica Europe |
| Website | www.telefonica.de www.o2online.de |
History
Originally launched in 1995 as Viag Interkom, it was a joint venture between British Telecommunications (45%), VIAG (45%) and Telenor (10%).
In 2001, BT acquired VIAGs remaining shares for €11.4 billion, and the company was renamed BT Germany, it became a part of BT Wireless, a group of subsidiary companies owned by BT.
In 2001, BT Germany demerged from BT and was relaunched as O2 Germany, a subsidiary of mmO2 plc.
In 2005, mmO2 plc. of which O2 Germany is a part, was acquired by Spanish telecoms giant, Telefónica. O2 Germany rebranded as Telefónica O2 Germany GmbH.
In 2011, Telefónica O2 Germany merged with HanseNet and renamed the merged company to Telefónica Germany.
Products
Telefónica Germany operates second and third generation mobile networks, allowing customers to use GPRS, EDGE, UMTS and HSDPA for data connections. Most of O2 plans are available both in a pre- and post-paid version, including the all-in-one-flatrates called o2 o and o2 on for enterprise customers. Beside the core business, Telefónica Germany is one of the largest retailers for cell phones and tablets without a SIM lock. It was the first operator offering both Apple's iPhone 4 and the iPad 2.[1] Also, Telefónica Germany offers hosting services for large and midsized companies, serving some well-known portals including Spiegel Online and Sevenload.[2] Together with Microsoft and Visionapp, Telefónica Germany provides a cloud service for Hosted Exchange.[3]
Competition
- Aldi Talk (using E-Plus)
- E-Plus
- Ortel Mobile (using E-Plus)
- Simyo (using E-Plus)
- T-Mobile
- TELE2 Mobile (using ?)
- Vodafone
- Yukoono (using Vodafone)
See also
References
- ^ O2 offering iPad 2 for Business Customers, Netzwelt, last access on October 22nd, 2011 (german)
- ^ Telefónica Germany founds Hosting Subsidiary (press release)
- ^ Review of o2 Hosted Exchange E-Mail Service (german)