From Buitrago to the Moon

When we say that Telefónica has been a witness to and often an actor in the major events of the 20th century and so far in the 21st century, we are referring to stories such as the following. Who would have thought that the telephone engineers of the late 1960s would have been able to use their skills and know-how to take man to the moon, no less. Telefónica's ground station in Buitrago de Lozoya (Madrid) was soon connected to the NASA tracking station in Robledo de Chavela (also in Madrid, near El Escorial). This NASA "branch" in Spain was one of 20 around the world, but as fate would have it, during the Apollo XI mission in the summer of 1969, only three of them - Robledo de Chavela, Goldstone in California and Canberra in Australia - were able to maintain constant communication with the spacecraft despite the Earth's movement. The three formed a satellite network with NASA's antennas in Washington and from there with the space centre in Houston. Certain technical setbacks had to be overcome that almost jeopardised the mission, but in the end, Telefónica's engineers - and the American teams involved as well - managed to get the optimal connections to facilitate the mission, and not only that: also the possibility of the historic images of the small step for the most famous man in history being broadcast on television.

More international communications

Infrastructure continues to grow "upwards", as we have seen, but also "downwards". In 1969 a new Spain-Italy submarine cable is also built, 640 circuits and 1,000 miles to improve connections with the Mediterranean. In September of the same year, on the other side of the ocean, the Balcarce Earth Station was inaugurated, the first and still the largest in Argentina. A huge station for satellite communications with other countries thanks to its antennas aimed at the Intelsat, NewSkies, Nahuelsat and Hispasat satellites. Since November 1990, Estación Balcarce has belonged to Telefónica de Argentina.

New share subscription campaign

Successive capital increases lead Telefónica to periodically launch new share subscription offers - of 'Matildes' - which are always associated with revealing - and very pretty - advertising campaigns. In this year's campaign, the advertising team focuses the campaign on the modernity that inexorably permeates Spanish society. Women, and not just men, are invited to invest their savings for the future in Telefónica shares because, says the advert, "you already have many things that make your life easier and more enjoyable... now you need something for tomorrow".