TDE.L Regulatory News (TDE)

13 Jun 2006 08:30

Cesky Telecom A.S.13 June 2006 > PRESS RELEASE - 13. 06. 2006> ADSL HAS 375,000 USERS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC, CESKY TELECOM SUCCESSFULLY SPEEDSUP INTERNET CONNECTIONS The number of broadband Internet users continues to grow. On June 13, 2006,CESKY TELECOM recorded 375 thousand telephone lines with ADSL Internetconnections. Furthermore, nearly all subscribers are able to surf at speeds thatthe Czech Republic's biggest telecommunications operator increased by up to fourtimes over the last few months. Over the last four months the number of ADSL subscribers has increased by aquarter. The number of localities where this type of connection is available hasalso grown. CESKY TELECOM covers 1,581 localities, which is a 20% growth incomparison with January 2006. This represents coverage of more than 90% of thetelephone lines in the Czech Republic. "In addition to the increasing popularity of broadband Internet services, wehave also successfully carried out a very technically demanding migration tohigher speeds for 294 thousand customers. This has been ongoing since February 1and after three months over 93% of all subscribers have been surfing at higherspeeds.," explains Petr Matejovsky, CESKY TELECOM's Manager for BroadbandInternet Services. According to company sources, 55 thousand clients increasedtheir connection speeds themselves with the assistance of the My Account (MojeKonto) application or through toll-free telephone lines. "To this day we have provided new speeds for nearly 97% of all customers," addsMatejovsky. CESKY TELECOM also includes 50 thousand wholesale customers, whoseconnection speeds were also quadrupled, in this quantity. "With regards to the fact that 3% of customers still cannot have theirconnection speeds increased at this time owing to various, primarily technicalreasons, we are investing hundreds of millions of koruna into the constructionof new technological elements in the network, so-called DSLAMs, which shouldenable migration for this small group of people during the holidays. In caseswhere even this measure will not be effective we will offer an alternativesolution or a reduction off the price of the service," says Matejovsky. With regards to the further development of broadband Internet in the CzechRepublic, CESKY TELECOM has also decided to lower wholesale prices forADSL-based services. As of July 1 of this year, every product in the portfoliowill be by CZK 22 cheaper. For further information, please contact: MARTIN ZABKA Press Spokesman Tel: +420 271 463 359 Fax: +420 271 469 896 e-mail: tiskovy.odbor@ct.cz CESKY TELECOM, a. s., a member of the Telefonica Group, is the leadingtelecommunications company in the Czech Republic. In co-operation with itssubsidiary company Eurotel Praha, spol. s r.o., the country's biggest mobileoperator, it offers the most comprehensive portfolio of voice and data serviceson the Czech market, supported by a unique combination of fixed and mobiletelephony. More detailed information about the firm and the services it offersis available at www.telecom.cz, which was rated as BestWeb 2003 in the WebTop100survey. Signum Temporis has consistently awarded CESKY TELECOM for being one of thedomestic capital market's most transparent firms in terms of providinginformation. Based on an open vote of specialists, members of the press and anine-member committee, CESKY TELECOM placed first in 2003, just as it did in2001. CESKY TELECOM ranks among the most prominent firms on the Czech capital marketin terms of capitalization and trading volumes. Its shares are also traded onthe London Stock Exchange in the form of GDRs. CESKY TELECOM's credit rating isthe highest a Czech corporation can receive from top international ratingagencies. About Telefonica Telefonica is Europe's leading integrated telecom company and second biggest inthe world. Its activities are centred mainly on the fixed and mobile telephonybusinesses with broadband as the key tool for the development of both of these. The company is operating in 40 countries and together with CESKY TELECOM has acustomer base that amounts to more than 140 million access. Telefonica has astrong presence in Latin America, where the company concentrates part of itsgrowth strategy. Telefonica is a 100% listed company, with more than 1.5 million directshareholders. Its share capital currently comprises 4,921,130,397 ordinaryshares traded on the Spanish Stock Market (Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao andValencia) and on those in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, New York, Lima,Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and the SEAQ International Exchange in London. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange