TDE.L Regulatory News (TDE)

5 Apr 2007 09:15

Telefonica O2 Czech Republic, A.S.05 April 2007 Press release Telefonica O2 Czech Republic Has Connected the 500 000th ADSL Customer Date: 05. 04. 2007 According to the statistics of Telefonica O2 Czech Republic the number ofcustomers using the ADSL broadband Internet access provided by Telefonica O2Czech Republic is now in excess of the magic number of 500 000. The recordcustomer growth has also been supported by new convergent services designed forhouseholds, O2 Trio and newly O2 Duo Mobil, by the regularly extended coverageand consistent emphasis on data technology improvements including the speedlimits that are currently being increased 4x for all new as well as existingcustomers in the Czech Republic. "About one household in eight is now connected to Internet through ADSL.Customers prefer really fast, secure and quality access. This world beatinggrowth rate shows that the fixed line is now changing its role in the household.Not only does the fixed provide this reliable link to the increasingly importantworld wide wet but now the line can be used for TV and of course voice calling,"said Simon Burckhardt, Chief Sales Officer of Telefonica O2 Czech Republic. "Inorder to thank our customers for their confidence in the broadband services, wehave prepared a gift for the 500 000th customer. The customer will get a superDell Latitude laptop and one year of free 8 Mb/s internet access provided aspart of O2 Internet Komplet service combining ADSL and mobile Internet accesswhich makes it a great tool to use at home as well as elsewhere." ADSL in the Czech Republic The ADSL access is currently the most frequently used, best accessible, secureand fastest growing broadband option in the Czech market. This is provenespecially by the rapid growth of new user numbers. When launched in March 2003,the service was available in Praha, Brno and Ostrava covering about 44 % of allthe telephone lines in the Czech Republic. The company reached the first 100 000customers at the end of 2004, a year later there were 275 thousand customers. InNovember 2006 the number exceeded 450 thousand. Over the past five months thenumber has grown by another 50 000 clients reaching thus another magicmilestone. In the Czech Republic Telefonica O2 Czech Republic is the largestprovider of the service, the company is at the same time the largest provider ofpublic telephone network services. Today the ADSL services are available formore than 97 % of all the fixed-lines operated by Telefonica O2 Czech Republic. ADSL in the world The ADSL technology is one of the most widely spread types of Internet accessworldwide. Surveys indicate that there is almost a quarter of billion ADSL linesregistered in the OECD countries and the number is growing every day. Highflexibility of ADSL makes the technology very popular since it can be used byhouseholds as well as large corporations. For more information, please contact: MARTIN ZABKASpokespersontel: + 420 271 463 359fax: + 420 271 469 896e-mail: public.relations.cz@o2.com http://www.cz.o2.com/ About Telefonica O2 Czech Republic Telefonica O2 Czech Republic, a.s., is the first integrated operator in theCzech Republic formed on 1 July 2006 by the merger of the leading fixed lineoperator, CESKY TELECOM, a.s., and the strongest mobile operator, Eurotel Praha,spol. s r.o., into a single telecommunications organization. The organization isnow operating nearly eight million lines, both fixed and mobile, making it oneof the world's leading providers of fully converged services. Telefonica O2 Czech Republic offers the most comprehensive portfolio of voiceand data services in this country. A special attention is paid to theexploitation of the growth potential, in particular the data and Internetbusiness. Telefonica O2 Czech Republic operates the largest fixed and mobilenetwork including a unique 3rd generation network, CDMA (for data) and UMTS,enabling the transport of voice, data and video. Furthermore, Telefonica O2Czech Republic offers the largest network of WiFi hotspots in the country. About Telefonica O2 Europe Telefonica O2 Europe comprises mobile network operators in the UK and Ireland,along with integrated fixed/mobile businesses in Germany and the Czech Republic- all of which use 'O2' as their consumer brand. The company recently won amobile licence in Slovakia, where it plans to launch service in 2007.Telefonica O2 Europe also owns 50% of the Tesco Mobile and Tchibo Mobilfunkjoint venture businesses in the UK and Germany respectively as well as having100% ownership of Be, a leading UK fixed broadband provider. In addition, thegroup includes the Isle of Man fixed/mobile operator, Manx Telecom, and O2Airwave, which supplies secure digital communications to the emergency servicesand other public safety organisations. Telefonica O2 Europe, part of the Telefonica group, is headquartered in Slough,UK, and has more than 38 million mobile and fixed customers. About Telefonica Telefonica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world interms of market capitalisation. Its activities are centered mainly on fixed andmobile telephony, with broadband as the key tool for the development of both. The company has a significant presence in 23 countries and a customer base ofmore than 203 million worldwide. Telefonica is a 100% listed company, with in excess of 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 and Sao Paulo. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange