THE CZECH REPUBLIC HAS 300,000 ADSL SUBSCRIBERS
14.2.2006
The number of people who connect to broadband Internet through fixed telephone lines has surpassed another significant milestone. Today, ČESKÝ TELECOM announced the 300,000th ADSL subscriber, a resident of Prague. As a bonus, the operator is awarding this person with a free one-year connection through the O2 Internet Expres MAXI service and a Dell Precision M70 notebook with a Pentium M procesor.“While the Czech Republic had its first 100,000 ADSL subscribers after 22 months and the second after 8, the third was acquired in merely 5 months. We are proud to say that this is a huge success and we are happy to have made a huge contribution to this excellent result,” said Simon Burckhardt, ČESKÝ TELECOM’s Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, with unhidden optimism and adding, “It is a very positive sign that in comparison with cable or Wi-Fi or mobile telephone connections ADSL technology has maintained its popularity and remains in first place. Customers themselves have confirmed that it is an excellent choice.” This progress is achieved just 8 months after the acquisition of ČESKÝ TELECOM by Telefónica. ČESKÝ TELECOM is now leveraging on the proven track record of Telefónica to extract full potential from the broadband opportunity in the Czech Republic.
Broadband Internet is now available in 1354 localities of the Czech Republic, which means that over 90 percent of all of ČESKÝ TELECOM’s telephone lines are now covered (see the map in the attached presentation). “Increasing the number of localities in which O2 Internet Expres can be used is still our main priority,” says company Spokesman Martin Žabka. ČESKÝ TELECOM began offering broadband Internet on March 3, 2003. At that time, this type of connection (ADSL) was only available in Prague, Brno and Ostrava, which meant less than 44 percent of all telephone lines in the Czech Republic.
In addition to growth in the number of localities and clients, a recent survey of the users themselves gives proof to the popularity of broadband Internet connections. The survey indicated that customers who have broadband Internet at home spend an average of 14 hours a week using it. On the contrary, domestic dial-up connection users spend an average of only four and a half hours a week surfing. Both of these groups use the Internet primarily for sending email (92%) and looking for a variety of information (98%). With regards to the current acceleration of connection speeds, ČESKÝ TELECOM representatives expect an increasing tendency for subscribers to use their computers and the Internet as a genuine multimedia device where they can easily listen to online radio, watch films and play challenging online games with fast response times.
Two weeks ago, the Czech Republic’s largest telecommunications operator made its broadband connection speeds up to four times faster. For instance, the basic O2 Internet Expres IMPULS service has been increased from 128/64 kb/s to 512/128 kb/s and the O2 Internet Expres IDEAL service now provides a download speed of 2 Mb/s, and in all cases the prices remain the same as they were before. In comparison with other European countries, broadband Internet from ČESKÝ TELECOM is at the absolute peak in terms of its speed-price ratio (see the graph in the attached presentation).
Martin Zabka
Spokesperson
ČESKÝ TELECOM, a. s., member of the Telefónica Group is the leading telecommunications company in the Czech Republic. Through its subsidiary company Eurotel Praha, spol. s r.o., it also has a significant presence in the Czech mobile services market. Further information about the firm and the services it offers is available at www.telecom.cz, which was rated as BestWeb 2003 in the WebTop100 survey.
Signum Temporis has consistently awarded
ČESKÝ TELECOM ranks among the most prominent firms on the Czech capital market in terms of capitalization and trading volumes. Its shares are also traded on the London Stock Exchange in the form of GDRs. ČESKÝ TELECOM\'s credit rating is the highest a Czech corporation can receive from top international rating agencies.
Telefónica
Telefónica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world in terms of market capitalisation. Its activities are centered mainly on the fixed and mobile telephony businesses with broadband as the key tool for the development of both.
The company has a significant presence in 19 countries and a customer base that amounts more than 180 million accesses around the world. Telefonica has a strong presence in Latin America, where the company focuses an important part of its growth strategy.
Telefónica is a 100% listed company, with more than 1.5 million direct shareholders. Its share capital currently comprises 4,921,130,397 ordinary shares traded on the Spanish Stock Market (Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia) and on those in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, New York, Lima, Buenos Aires and São Paulo.
