Euskaltel
 | |
| Sociedad Anónima | |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Derio, Spain |
Key people | Jose Antonio Ardanza (CEO) |
Number of employees | 550 |
| Website |
www |
Euskaltel, S.A. is a telecommunications company based in the Spanish autonomous community Basque Country, with its headquarters in Derio (near Bilbao). Its name literally translates into English as "Basque-Tel". It was formed by a joint effort of the Basque Government and Basque public saving banks.
It has a network of fibre optics under Basque cities, laid in collaboration with the Basque gas company.
Its president is José Antonio Ardanza, a former President of the Basque Government for EAJ-PNV.
The company used the small town telco Urnietatel as a test ground.
The corporate color is orange.
Mobile virtual network operator
Although Euskaltel has its own cable network, it doesn't have a licence to use cellphone antennas. The company has agreements with Vodafone, to use their antennas for their cellphone service. Previously it had an agreement with Amena to provide their service in the Basque country while Amena operated in the rest of Spain, but it was ended when Amena was absorbed by France Telecom, becoming Orange.
Corporate sponsorship
Euskaltel was the joint lead sponsor of the Basque Country's major professional cycling team, Euskaltel-Euskadi, along with the regional government. The team, once one of eighteen elite teams making up the UCI ProTour, was a regular participant in the annual Tour de France and Vuelta a España, and has helped launch the careers of many top Basque riders such as Iban Mayo and Haimar Zubeldia.
