Lisbon, Jan. 29, 2025 (Lusa) - French-owned telecommunications company Altice has confirmed to Lusa that it has decided to change the name of its institutional brands in Portugal to Meo, with the exception of Altice Labs, which is to retain that name for the time being.

The change was motivated by the aim of "simplifying communication and unifying its presence in the market under a single identity," explained an official source, when questioned by Lusa. 

 In this way, the institutional brands will take on the name Meo - namely the Altice Foundation, which will become the Meo Foundation, and Altice Cuidados de Saúde, which will become Meo Cuidados Saúde. 

"This path of brand and communication simplification began in 2023, as exemplified by Meo Empresas," added the company, which declined to reveal the cost of making this change.

In addition to the business segment, the Meo brand also addresses services for the residential market. 

The announcement was made by the operator to all workers' representative organisations at a meeting held on Tuesday, and comes at a time when the French group is studying selling assets in Portugal separately, rather than the operation as a whole, as was once on the table.

The unions and the company works council “learnt that there will be a rebranding" and that there will no longer be an “Altice brand to become 100%,” the National Union of Telecommunications and Audiovisual Workers (SINTTAV) said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

In the document, the union also noted that Geodesia is once again to become Meo Serviços Técnicos, but that the future designation of Altice Labs, the group's innovation headquarters, has yet to be decided.

"The change was not opposed by us, since it is a strong brand in the sector, and with this change we believe that it will contribute to strengthening and valorising the Meo brand, i.e. a 'new clean face' or 'cleaning up the image' of what has happened most negatively in recent years," SINTTAV states.

SCR/ARO // ARO.

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