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Background and General Information	12 Months Ended
Background and General Information	Dec. 31, 2017
General Information About Financial Statements [Abstract]
Background and General Information	Background and general information Telefónica, S.A. and its subsidiaries and investees (“Telefónica”, “the Company”, the “Telefónica Group” or "the Group”) make up an integrated and diversified telecommunications group operating mainly in Europe and Latin America. The Group’s activity is centered around services of wireline and wireless telephony, broadband, internet, data traffic, Pay TV and other digital services. The parent company of the Group is Telefónica, S.A., a public limited company incorporated on April 19, 1924 for an indefinite period. Its registered office is at calle Gran Vía 28, Madrid (Spain). Appendix I lists the main companies composing the Telefónica Group, their corporate purpose, country, functional currency, share capital, the Group’s effective shareholding and their method of consolidation. As a multinational telecommunications company which operates in regulated markets, the Group is subject to different laws and regulations in each of the jurisdictions in which it operates, pursuant to which permits, concessions or licenses must be obtained in certain circumstances to provide the various services. In addition, certain wireline and wireless telephony services are provided under regulated rate and price systems. Key regulatory issues, and concessions and licenses held by the Telefónica Group are detailed in Appendix VI.