Brett Allan King

[Madrid, Spain] Spain’s Terra Networks and the travel technology company Amadeus launched Rumbo this week, hoping to make the online travel service the largest in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world. The travel portal currently allows Spaniards to buy airline tickets and compare prices from their PC. Terra and Amadeus had agreed to the joint venture […]

[Madrid, SPAIN] Terra-Mobile, the mobile Internet child of Terra Networks and Telefsnica Moviles, opened its global Internet portal today offering content to both its own customers and those of rival operators. Along with mail service and personal agenda, the portal offers various m-commerce functions, financial information, road and traffic information with commuter itineraries, city guides, […]

[Madrid, SPAIN] Following the lead of other European governments, Portugal’s Institute of Communications (ICP) opened shop this week for bids on third-generation mobile phone licenses. While outsiders are eligible, current operators are well-poised favorites for three of the four licenses Companies will have until September 29 to present the ICP with technical and business plans […]

[Madrid, SPAIN] An ongoing investigation into alleged insider trading by Juan Villalonga, president of Telefonica, may lead to his replacement within a week, say several Spanish sources. Last month, Spain’s securities and exchange commission, the Comision Nacional de Mercado de Valores (CNMV), reopened an investigation into Villalonga’s alleged use of privileged information to buy Telefonica […]

[Madrid, SPAIN] Spain’s second-largest telecom operator was the latest to join this month’s “flat” rate war with its announcement this week of cheaper nightly Net use. Along with its Internet portal eresmas.com, Retevisisn announced a flat rate fee of 2600 pesetas (US $15) applicable from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.–the time period Telefsnica (which rents […]

[Madrid, Spain–June 16] Spanish e-commerce is maturing, and along with the growing pains have come ambitious initiatives to coax ticket-seeking Spaniards into shopping online. Spain’s Banesto bank and Ya.com, a major portal, joined this month in an online ticket distribution plan for the biggest e-commerce operation in Spanish e-history. Likewise, the high-tech travel distribution company […]

The number of Spanish netizens has jumped to more than 4 million and, for the first time ever, exponential growth will quickly make it mass medium in Spain, the Association of Spanish Internet Users (AUI) recently announced. According to the Encuesta General de Medios, the past four months have brought 700,000 Spaniards (1.9 percent of […]

In a move favoring companies and discouraging URL speculation, Spain’s Development Ministry wrought radical changes in the way firms register under the “.es” domain. The new regulations are a blow to third parties hoping to register a known company name and sell it off to its “rightful owner” for astronomical sums. In addition to reserving […]

In their bid for Spain’s highest office, candidates in Sunday’s general elections will have to contend for the votes of a new but increasingly vocal lobby: Spanish Netizens. Amidst demands for flat rate Net access and greater regulation or deregulation of the telecommunications sector, presidential candidates of all political stripes are responding to voters who […]

Amidst growing competition for online customers, the Banco Espaqol de Cridito, S.A. (Banesto) has spent all month launching the market infrastructure for Virtu@lCash Plus, “the first virtual card you can touch.” Hailed as the first effort of its kind, Virtu@alCash Plus is a free, Internet-only plastic debit card that users can recharge at any of […]

With Spanish Internet use still lagging behind that of its northern neighbors, politicians and netizen advocates this week called for improved government and private sector strategizing. President José Maria Aznar, in his address at “Mundo Internet 2000,” Spain’s fifth annual Internet and Extranet users’ conference, defended universal, flat rate access and promised that by 2004 […]

Terra Networks, S.A. and Telefónica Móviles unveiled joint plans this week to promote wireless Internet services in the Spanish market and to further exploit Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) technology. According to Telefonica, Terra will combine its experience as provider of Internet services, applications and content with Telefonica Moviles’ domination of mobile phone technology. “These sorts […]