Telefónica Europe business was rebranded to 'O2 Online' which continues in the UK as a mobile communications service provider tied to the O2 UK network. The Genie portal properties were rebranded O2 Active in UK, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands, and Genie Asia became O2 Asia. O2 Asia became a subsidiary of O2 UK for governance purposes. On 31 October 2005, O2 agreed to be taken over by Telefónica, a Spanish telecommunications company, with a cash offer of £17.7 billion, or £2 per share. According to the merger announcement, O2 retained its name and continued to be based in the United Kingdom,
Communications Technology Satellite Communications Technology Satellite The Communications Technology Satellite, also known as Hermes, was an experimental high-power direct broadcast communications satellite. It was a joint effort of Canada's Department of Communications, who designed and managed it, NASA who launched it and provided a traveling wave guide, the European Space Agency or ESA who provided the 1200 watt solar panels and other devices. The three agencies shared the satellite and the data from the experiments. It was launched on January 17 1976 from Cape Canaveral, or Cape Kennedy in Florida by a Delta rocket. Designed for a two-year mission it was the basis