[2] In 1930 the "Ministerio de Fomento" under President Juan Vicente Gomez administration, granted a concession to Félix A. Guerrero to build and operate a telephone network in the Federal District and the States of the Union.

With fellow shareholders Manuel Pérez Abascal, an entrepreneur, and Alfredo Damirón, an attorney, they registered Compañía Anónima Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela on 20 June 1930.

[3] After a commission spent several years enquiring into ways of expanding the service, in 1953 the government announced its intention to acquire 100% of the shares of Cantv at a price of US$7.1M, as part of the state's program of nationalization.

The company was privatized on December 15, 1991, the envelopes containing the bids were opened in a public act and the successful bidder was the consortium VenWorld Telecom, C.A.

On January 8, 2007, President Hugo Chávez announced that Venezuela would re-nationalize CANTV, a move aimed at returning the company's control to the state.

On April 8, 2007, the Venezuelan Government launched a tender offer to acquire Cantv’s shares in Venezuela (Class D) and in the United States (ADS).

The information gathered is used to create a "person of interest" for Venezuelan authorities, where only selected individuals could have been fully spied on and a database set up to track those who openly opposed the Bolivarian Revolution.