Telefonica chief operating officer Angel Vila has revealed that the telecom operator’s Capex has increased significantly ahead of the 5G network expansion.
Telefonica Group CEO Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete said: “Telefonica focussed on deploying next generation networks in our markets, improving 4G coverage and launching 5G selectively.”
Capex of Telefonica — in Europe and Brasil — increased 82.3 percent to 3.273 billion euros during the third quarter of 2019.
Telefonica Spain’s Capex touched 382 million euros (+0.7 percent).
Telefonica Deutschland’s Capex in Germany has touched 1,711 million euros in Q3 2019. Telefonica Deutschland’s Capex of €2,207 million in the first 9 months include 5G spectrum obligations of €1,425 million.
Telefonica UK’s Capex reached 242 million euros (+12.6 percent). Telefonica UK Capex amounted to €652 million (+6.1 percent) in nine months, reflecting continued investment in network capacity, customer experience and the start of laying the foundations for 5G.
Telefonica Brasil’s Capex reached 553 million euros (+4.2 percent). Telefonica Brazil’s Capex in January-September touched €1,486 million (+6.7 percent). Its FTTH deployment reached 33 new cities in the first nine months. It expanded the 4G network to 3,190 cities achieving 88.5 percent population coverage. Capex accounted for 20 percent of revenues of Telefonica Brazil.
Telefonica Hispam Sur’s Capex touched 185 million euros (+3.9 percent). Telefonica Hispam Sur’s Capex for January-September amounted to €678 million (+9.8 percent) mainly allocated to the deployment of LTE, FTTx and cable networks. Capex represented 14 percent of revenues.
Telefonica Argentina’s Capex in nine months amounted to €212 million, accounting for 13 percent of sales, mainly devoted to the fibre and 4G network expansion.
Telefonica Chile’s Capex was €254 million (+12.9 percent), representing 17 percent of revenues in January-September. The main focus was on FTTH deployment. Its FTTH has covered 1.5 million premises.
Telefonica Peru’s Capex in January-September reached €196 million (–2.1 percent), accounting for 12 percent of revenues. The main focus was on 4G, fibre and cable networks deployment.
Capex of Telefonica Hispam Norte was 143 million euros (+7.7 percent) in Q3 2019. Capex of was €327 million (+2.1 percent) in nine months. Capex excluding spectrum represented 10 percent over sales.
Telefonica Colombia’s Capex touched €151 million (+34.9 percent) representing 14 percent in January-September.
Telefonica Mexico’s Capex was €89 million (–23.4 percent) in January-September. The business unit renewed spectrum in the 7.5 GHz and 23 GHz bands for €18 million. Capex excluding spectrum represented 8 percent over sales.
Telefonica Group Capex in January-September totalled €6,657 million (+17.2 percent) and included €1,465 million of spectrum. Telefonica made investment for the deployment of LTE and fibre networks, increased network capacity and virtualisation and improved quality and customer experience by the implementation of AI in the company’s technology platforms.
Telefonica added 3.6 million 4G LTE connections, 1.9 million mobile connections and 0.3 million FTTx/Cable connections during the third quarter.
Telefonica said 123 million premises passed with FTTx/Cable and LTE coverage reached 79 percent.
Telefonica Group revenues rose 1.7 percent to 11,902 billion euros.
Telefonica generated revenue of 3,218 million euros (+1 percent) in Spain, 1,865 million euros (+1.9 percent) in Germany, 1,773 million euros (+3 percent) in UK, 2,507 million euros (+6.9 percent) in Brasil, 1,430 million euros (+8.7 percent) in Hispam Sur region and 895 million euros (–14 percent) in Hispam Norte region.
