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Euskaltel is a telecommunications company based in the Spanish autonomous community Basque Country, with its headquarters in Derio (near Bilbao). Its name literally translates into English as "Basque-Tel". It was formed by a joint effort of the Basque Government and Basque public saving banks. It has a network of fiber optics under Basque cities, laid in collaboration with the Basque gas company. Its president is José Antonio Ardanza, a former President of the Basque Government for EAJ-PNV. It has agreements with Vodafone to share technology while reserving the Basque market for Euskaltel and the rest of Spain for Vodafone. It used the small town telco Urnietatel as a test ground. The corporate color is orange.
Euskaltel is the joint lead sponsor of the Basque Country's major professional cycling team, Euskaltel-Euskadi, along with the regional government. The team, one of eighteen elite teams making up the UCI ProTour, is a regular participant in the annual Tour de France and Vuelta a España, and has helped launch the careers of many top Basque riders, in particular Samuel Sánchez, Iban Mayo and Haimar Zubeldia.
