Ten years ago, Portugal witnessed a turning point in the telecommunications sector. The creation of Portugal Telecom joined the State’s main assets within the sector and launched the base for the largest Portuguese private corporate entity. 

On the 23rd of June 2004, Portugal Telecom celebrated its ten years as a company. These ten years were celebrated in a special way. The date marks the joining of the State’s main stakes within the sector which were held by the holding Comunicações Nacionais (National Communications), and which merged “Telefones de Lisboa e Porto”, “Telecom Portugal” and “Teledifusora de Portugal”, into one single company. Marconi guaranteed intercontinental traffic and would later become part of the company.

Today, the company has 100% private capital, a distinction for the sector at international level and it also controls the Portuguese market in all businesses in which it is present. There are many past successes largely due to a spirit of leadership, innovation, competence and determination, which is lived and left by all employees, teams and companies which today make up PT.

The PT's Executive Chairman, Miguel Horta e Costa stated “it was ten years marked by big challenges, a lot of work and most of all, by an enormous sense of mission amongst all employees of Portugal Telecom. In a decade, we transformed a group of companies who had their own, individual value into a solid group, cohesive and leader in the various sectors in which it performs”. With this common culture we were able to gather the necessary conditions to conquer achievements like the purchase of Telesp Celular in July 1998, as the largest privatisation in the world which was carried out by the Brazilian Government. This purchase opened the door to the joint-venture with Telefónica Móviles and led to VIVO. A new phase in PT's history. In 1995, the first stage of privatisation of PT begins, and the 2nd of June marked the debut of the company’s shares in the Lisbon, London and New York Stock Exchanges. In the same year, TMN launched the first pre-paid mobile telephone, the MIMO, a decisive service in the democratisation of the mobile telephone throughout the world. The following year saw the second phase of PT’s privatisation. 

1997 saw the approval of a new delimitation law of the sectors which allowed the State to hold less that 51% of the company’s capital. Following said approval, the 3rd phase of the privatisation was carried out, placing approximately 75% of Portugal Telecom’s Capital in the hands of private persons. 1999 was a year filled with success. PT Inovação, the investigation and development laboratory of PT was created in Aveiro, allowing a continuity to the centre of telecommunication competencies which already existed in the city. With the creation of PT Multimedia, within the same year, Portugal Telecom was provided with a sub-holding in the areas of media, cinema, cable television, internet services, and television contents services.

The Sapo portal which was created in 1994 in the University of Aveiro, is also stated to be the leading internet portal in Portugal in 1999. In mobile communications, TMN widens its services to a world which consists of 2 million clients and in April, Telesp Celular launched Baby, a pre-paid service which revolutionised and democratised the mobile telephone in Brazil. Along side this, the fourth phase of privatisation of PT was concluded on the 12th July 1999. This was an operation in which the State reduced its participation to approximately 11% of capital. Still in the same year, the Forbes Magazine elected Portugal Telecom as one of the 400 largest companies in the world.

In 2000 is created PT – Sistemas de Informação which is today one of Portugal’s largest companies in the consulting and information systems integration sector. In this same year, PT Comunicações was created, followed by the fifth phase of privatisation which was concluded at the end of the year. In this operation, the entire capital of Portugal Telecom was practically privately owned, except for 500 Category A shares which were held by the state (golden share). In December 2000, Portugal Telecom changed its social denomination to PT, SGPS, AS, changing its social objective to managing society for social participations. The year in which Sapo ADSL was launched, in July 2002, PT reached in December the historical 20 million client mark.

In 2003 PT PRO was launched which was an important step in the efficiency of operations carried out throughout the company. In March of the same year, the constitution of the PT Foundation brought together areas such as social development, culture, technology and sports. In the same year, PT is assumed as the Euro 2004 technological partner.
After the creation of PT Corporate in July 2003, which integrated all services rendered by PT in the market of big clients, PT surpasses yet another historical mark: 30 million clients.

2003 is also the cultural year for the company which was marked by the launch of new communication supports. A year which was also marked by the reinvention of the fixed business and with the launch of PT Wi-Fi - company which was thought of due to the need for more mobility of clients who belonged to the information society.

2004 hasn’t finished yet, but the pioneering of TMN in the launch of the 3rd Generation Mobile Telephones, marks the first half with the leadership in national mobile communications.

It is said that the history of Telecommunications in Portugal is often confused with the history of PT, and it’s true. The company which we know today inherited more than a century of development competencies in the sector. An inheritance which also involves many responsibilities.

PT is the Portuguese entity with the largest national and international projection, with more than 35 million clients in nine countries spread across the four corners of the world. Results are created with the need to always be one step ahead. In an Internal Communication sent out to all employees because of the ten year fusion, Miguel Horta e Costa stated that “Our future as a group will be more auspicious if we are able to take synergies further, working as a group and daily reinforcing PT culture. This is the challenge which I set to all of you on this day which is of celebration and of sharing victories”.