Telefonica and materials producer Wurth Group boxed clever in applying advanced computing and AI to a logistics scenario, delivering various benefits in packing efficiency and a reduced environmental impact.

The companies worked with Spanish applied research and technology development centre Tecnalia and quantum computing start-up QCentroid to test a means of optimising logistics packing processes.

Telefonica explained the approach employs quantum computing and AI algorithms and was proven to improve packing efficiency “across 14% of the more than 6,000 orders processed”.

The sum translated to a 3% cut in the number of boxes used, in turn lowering the volume of cargo transported by road along with cardboard usage.

Leonor Ostos, director of product and service development with Telefonica Espana, said the work with the domestic unit of Wurth proved a combination of quantum computing and AI could improve services, provided of course the underlying communications network is up to the task.

Wurth Espana chief operations officer Begona Lopez said the fastenings and assembly materials producer is always seeking ways to improve efficiency and the project enabled it to explore the potential of the technologies “from a highly practical and operations-focused perspective”.

Telefonica is establishing something of a reputation for researching the potential of quantum computing, with work on data protection and pharmaceutical research notable examples.

The operator asserts a leading position in providing “quantum-safe communications services”, pointing to a pilot with a Spanish police force and the opening of a dedicated research centre which it employed in the Wurth work.

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Telefonica Tech helped the people of Santa Pola on Spain’s Costa Blanca to see the bright side of life after contributing its NB-IoT capabilities to an upgrade of streetlights in the town.

The project is another collaboration by Telefonica’s digital business unit and a joint venture involving infrastructure player Ferrovial Energia, which this time is working with Spanish energy company Iberdrola Clientes.

Telefonica Tech’s NB-IoT capabilities are being used to enable remote management of LED street lighting in the coastal town. As in a previous deployment, 6,300 nodes made by Tellink are being deployed which the operator unit is connecting.

The system enables the Ferrovial Energia and Iberdrola Clientes joint venture to regulate lighting based on demand with a view to optimising energy consumption.

Telefonica Tech highlighted predictive maintenance as another benefit of the NB-IoT equipped lights.

Tellink CEO Dionisio Martinez said the company had won more than 100 smart lighting contracts and emphasised the experience it brings in installing and operating the systems.

For Telefonica Tech, the deal in Santa Pola is another notch in a move to establish itself as a leading digitalisation company, director of IoT Dario Cesena said.

The smart lighting system highlights its potential in delivering centralised management, Cesena added.

Loreto Serrano, Mayor of Santa Pola, explained upgrading its lighting systems is “one of our major challenges” for the current term in office and it is taking advantage of the need to improve systems to deploy a smart set up capable of cutting costs and its carbon footprint.

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A regional Spanish government tasked Telefonica with a major overhaul of water metering systems, employing the operator’s NB-IoT network to connect 175,000 smart gauges to uncork a host of operational and management upgrades.

The operator is also tasked with installing the smart meters in the Castile and Leon region in northwest Spain. The upgrade covers real-time data collection along with remote management and monitoring of consumption in domestic and industrial settings.

Telefonica branded the scheme a “step towards data-driven prediction models”.

The project is being handled by the region’s Public Infrastructure and Environment company and involves Telefonica providing a platform to analyse meter data, a move expected to boost service accuracy across gauges from multiple manufacturers.

Telefonica Tech director of IoT Dario Cesena said it is providing “more and better services to customers” by combining its NB-IoT network with managed services.

The company explained the smart meters gather data hourly, boosting detection of abnormal consumption, operational efficiency and service planning.

Security is a high priority in the communications network and management platform: Telefonica highlighted compliance with “the standards required for critical government services”.

It added the smart meter programme contributes to the digital development of the Castille and Leon region.

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Telefonica revealed it reused or recycled more than 4 million devices in 2025, as the operator steps up efforts to hit its zero-waste target by 2030.

The Spanish operator said 95% of its waste was reused or recycled during the year, including 3 million routers and set-top boxes. Devices were collected from customers, operations and offices, with 75% reused and the remaining 25% recycled.

Telefonica also reused more than 780,000 units of network equipment in 2025, adding this enabled it to meet the GSMA-backed industry commitment to reuse and recycle 100% of collected equipment.

In addition, the company claimed progress in mobile devices, collecting nearly 95 tonnes of handsets and reusing more than 357,000 units. It noted this represented 15% of all devices distributed, with all recovered handsets either reused or recycled.

Supplier engagement also forms part of the programme, with the operator working to include circularity in the procurement and equipment design stage through recycling, durability and repairability requirements. Telefonica explained its zero-waste strategy prioritises reuse, with recycling used when equipment cannot be put back into service. This approach helps avoid the manufacture of new equipment and cuts associated resource use and CO2 emissions.

Maya Ormazabal, global director of sustainability at Telefonica, said: “The circular economy is a priority pillar in our sustainability strategy and a key driver for advancing toward a more efficient, innovative, and competitive company.”

She added the approach enables the operator to “contribute to a more responsible use of resources and the reduction of environmental impacts associated with technological activity”, while supporting “more sustainable access to digital capabilities for society”.

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Telefonica chairman and CEO Marc Murtra (pictured, right) insisted European sovereignty will only be possible with simplified regulation and a commitment to building technology within the continent, while stressing strategic autonomy does not mean isolation.

Speaking at the 2026 Cercle d’Economia meeting held in Barcelona on a roundtable about AI and European technological sovereignty, Murtra argued Europe needs to accelerate the development of its own technologies to keep pace in a world shaped by AI, quantum computing and new autonomous systems.

Murtra said building out technologies had become a determining factor for countries’ economic competitiveness, productivity, resilience and “decision-making capacity”.

In this context, however, he does not believe taking such an approach will mean isolation on the global stage, rather it gives Europe the ability to develop and control critical capabilities in areas such as energy, digital infrastructure, semiconductors and AI.

“Strategic autonomy is the relevant concept. No economy is completely independent, but Europe must strengthen its capabilities to reduce excessive dependencies in key technologies,” he said.

Protect European values
Delving deeper into Europe’s needs, Murtra explained strategic autonomy requires combining investment, industrial capacity, innovation, talent and forming “a shared long-term vision”.

This vision, he added, should be centred on defending and preserving “very important values linked to democracy, human dignity and the ability to say what we think.”

On the point of regulation, the Telefonica executive believes simplifying rules and focus does not mean eliminating anything, but “rather prioritising what drives innovation, competitiveness and strategic autonomy”.

He concluded: “Europe has the GDP, the talent, the engineers, the companies and the institutions” to lead the next technological revolution.

Murtra’s comments coincided with a new European Commission (EC) proposal to boost the continent’s sovereignty, outlining renewed focus on semiconductors, AI, cloud and open source.

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Telefonica reached a deal to buy back rural backhaul provider LineoX after selling the business to investment group Asterion Industrial Partners more than six years ago.

Telefonica stated LineoX operates one of Spain’s leading rural microwave link networks, providing critical backhauling infrastructure for mobile connectivity, particularly in rural and less densely populated areas.

Asterion acquired the “underlying portfolio” of microwave radio links from Telefonica in 2020 through a carve out transaction and has operated the business as an independent infrastructure platform.

It has also been integrated within a broader wholesale telecoms group alongside Axion, spanning radio links, towers, broadcasting and fibre transport.

Telefonica, which did not reveal the value of the transaction, stated it has remained a partner and anchor client of LineoX since the sale, reflecting a commitment to network performance, service continuity and reliability.

Borja Ochoa, CEO of Telefonica Spain added the deal to acquire the unit is fully aligned with its strategy.

“Our focus is to rigorously strengthen control over the capabilities that are critical to our network, our resilience and our long-term leadership, so that we can provide more and better services to our customer.”

He added LineoX is a highly relevant platform for rural connectivity in Spain, and its integration will reinforce its ability to continue investing in the evolution of its infrastructure.

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