Responsibility in our products and services 

Our Consolidated management report 2022 in responsibility in our products and services highlights several key areas of focus: 

Vision

At Telefónica, we utilise our significant capacity to drive socio-economic development and environmental protection through our products and services. We ensure these offerings not only comply with all health and safety regulations and standards but also provide added value, enabling our customers to engage confidently with secure and reliable digital services. 

Our key areas of focus include guaranteeing network quality and availability around the clock, complying with ICNIRP guidelines on electromagnetic field exposure, and ensuring the safety, functionality, accessibility, and traceability of our products and services. We are committed to delivering solutions that go the extra mile for our customers. 

Telefónica has maintained an optimal level of network availability and quality against the backdrop of a 20-30% year-on-year increase in traffic. 

Risks and opportunities 

At Telefónica, we harness technology to tackle significant social and environmental challenges, contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. We ensure network availability and quality, even in remote areas, and are vigilant about misinformation risks, particularly around 5G and electromagnetic fields. 

We emphasise the importance of offering reliable, safe services that meet high-quality standards, including risk management. We manage our products’ life cycle, conduct quality controls, and audit our device production facilities. We seize our position at the end of the supply chain as an opportunity to focus on our customers, engaging them directly with innovative services using the latest network technology. 

Network quality and availability 

At Telefónica, we prioritise the quality and availability of our networks and digital services, ensuring maximum access speed and information transmission capacity 24/7. This commitment was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when our infrastructure supported over 50% more traffic, yet maintained optimal service. 

We invest significantly in resilient infrastructures, expanding digital access daily. We are transparent about our service quality, providing real-time network status and connection speed information. Despite a significant traffic increase, our service availability remained above 99.9% in 2022. 

Electromagnetic fields 

At Telefónica, we strictly adhere to the electromagnetic emission exposure limits set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) across all countries where we operate. This ensures the safety of our network, including 5G. We also have a Manual of Good Practices to guide our teams and outline initiatives in different countries. 

We are committed to scientific research on potential health effects of electromagnetic fields, supporting studies such as one by the Salamanca Cancer Centre (CSIC) on leukaemia development in predisposed animal models. In 2022, we conducted 46,861 measurements at our base stations, all of which were below ICNIRP levels, showcasing our dedication to both the energy transition and risk management. 

All our base stations comply with the limits on radio-electric emissions exposure established by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). 

Health and safety in our products 

We ensure the safety, proper functioning, accessibility, and traceability of our products and services. All the products we market comply with international standards and local legislation in every market where we operate. We also conduct inspections and audits directly on our manufacturers’ premises as part of the entire development process. 

At Telefónica, we ensure the safety, functionality, accessibility, and traceability of our products. All devices we market comply with international and local standards, including the RoHS certificate for hazardous substances and the GCF certificate for network connection. 

For other residential equipment, we adhere to international standards and local legislation. We conduct direct inspections and audits on our manufacturers’ premises, ensuring quality control and safety. In 2022, we detected no non-compliance in any region. 

All the products we market comply with international standards and local legislation in every market where we operate.

Read more of our Responsibility in our products and services in the Chapter 2.12 of our Consolidated management report 2022 in the link below: