Telefónica has given a new boost to the career of Javier López, until now director of Defense at Telefónica Empresas and head of the defense division at Telefónica España, by appointing him sole administrator of its subsidiary Telefónica Defensa y Seguridad, a position in which he replaces José Luis Gilperez.
The company had already modified the corporate name of its subsidiary Telefónica Ingeniería de Seguridad, which is now called Telefónica Defensa y Seguridad, as recorded in the Official Bulletin of the Mercantile Registry (Borme). This change is part of the group's strategy to strengthen its position in the security field and gain weight in the defense sector.
The president of Telefónica, Marc Murtra, announced in March during his speech at the ordinary general meeting of shareholders that the 'telco' will allocate resources to consolidate its presence in defense products and integrate cybersecurity and cloud solutions into its business-to-business (B2B) business.
"We will invest in expanding the fiber network and 5G coverage in our core markets, in increasing 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) fiber capabilities in Spain and Brazil, in integrating cybersecurity and cloud solutions in B2B, and in strengthening our presence in defense products," he assured.
Strategic alliances with Indra and Navantia
On the other hand, the CEO of Telefónica, Emilio Gayo, emphasized at the end of May in a new session of the 'Desayunos Esade', organized by Esade Alumni, that technological transformation has shifted part of the defense business towards telcos, alluding to specific collaborations that he considers "necessary".
Gayo specified that Telefónica already has an alliance with Navantia to offer cybersecurity services within its industrial facilities, as well as a Temporary Union of Companies (UTE) with Indra to develop a connected armored vehicle within a 'mega-contract' for multidisciplinary connectivity 'MC3' (command, control, and communications) for 950 million.
In this context, Telefónica was awarded last month the main lot of Navantia's new communications contract, valued at 6.5 million euros (including taxes), which guarantees connectivity and protection of communications between the different centers of the public shipbuilding company.
At the same time, Indra and Telefónica are analyzing formulas for collaboration in cyber defense and cybersecurity through a scheme similar to that of the Tess Defence consortium, controlled by the defense and technology firm.
Both companies, which already cooperate on other projects, are considering an associative model similar to the Tess Defence consortium, responsible for the manufacture of the 8x8 Dragón armored vehicle for the Spanish Army and the Tracked Support Vehicle (VAC), two programs awarded by the Ministry of Defense.