TDE.L Regulatory News (TDE)

25 Oct 2005 09:00

Cesky Telecom A.S.25 October 2005 PRESS RELEASE Eurotel Opens New Era of Mobile Telecommunications in the Czech Republic on 1st December 2005. Prague, 25th October 2005 - Eurotel Praha, spol. s r.o. announced today thelaunch of commercial operation in the UMTS network on 1st December 2005. Eurotelalso presented the first part of the only full-scale UMTS services portfolio inthe Czech Republic featuring data, real time video and quality multimediaservices at Invex fair in Brno today. The services include extensiveinternational connectivity in almost 40 countries of the world and theintroduction of attractive "new generation" mobile handsets and data cardscompatible with UMTS and GSM networks. Quality high-speed Internet access, real-time video, top multimediaapplications, fast downloading of video and music tracks - all in favourablypriced mobile handsets. This is the future of mobile telecommunications that isfast becoming a reality thanks to Eurotel from the beginning of December. Thisyear, more than twelve months before the deadline Eurotel committed to in itsUMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) network license, the people inthe Czech Republic will enjoy the same benefits as more than 30 million peoplein 40 countries of the world. Services Eurotel is the first and only operator to offer a full-scale and comprehensiveportfolio of UMTS services in the Czech Republic. The combination of highlyattractive state-of-the-art mobile handsets and speed of the UMTS network willfacilitate introduction of a set of brand new services and improve the servicesthat are currently limited when used in the GSM network. Eurotel is going toprovide more details including information on pricing of the UMTS services atthe beginning of December when the network is commercially launched. Eurotel Video calling is a service of UMTS characterising a new chapter in thehistory of mobile telecommunications. The time has arrived when people will beable not only to hear each other but also see each other when making a mobile tomobile call. With the Video calling service it is possible to do much more thanjust make a video call. The system of two cameras that all UMTS mobile handsetsare equipped with provides unexpected number of other usage options generallyreferred to as "See what I See". Experience from the countries where the UMTSnetwork is already available shows that people do not use their UMTS handsetsjust to make regular telephone calls, but they also use them as miniature videocameras. They make video calls to inform one another about what is going onaround them, share atmosphere, consult shopping or communicate with theirphysician. The service is also an interesting communication solution for peoplewith impaired hearing. In addition to mobile to mobile video calling, there will be also Eurotel WebVideo calling service enabling a video call between mobile handset and PC. Thecalling and the receiving party will always have an opportunity to make a choiceand select between video and voice call. The capabilities the UMTS network opens will also enable perfecting andextending of the current portfolio of multimedia services and applicationsavailable at the Eurotel Live! infotainment portal. The portfolio of UMTSservices also contains downloading of video and music tracks. With EurotelJukebox and Eurotel Video, customers will be able to stream their favouritesongs and videos in top quality or watch music TV station TV Oeko on-line. Customers will also be now able to see real time traffic situations throughoutthanks to their UMTS handsets. Eurotel On-line traffic cameras will provide themwith pictures identical with those taken by cameras monitoring traffic on theroads and intersections in big cities, starting with Prague and extendinggradually to other cities and towns. Mobile handsets and data cards All customers of Eurotel will be able to access the services and benefits of theUMTS network; without extra costs or the need for any special activation. AnyEurotel customer needs only a UMTS enabled mobile handset and Eurotel SIM card.Eurotel already offers attractive and affordable mobile handsets thatcommunicate in the GSM as well as UMTS network. The price of Sony Ericsson K600istarts at CZK 1. High-end Nokia N70 model offered exclusively by Eurotel ispriced from CZK 2995. Additionally, the Samsung Z300 will be added to theportfolio of the new generation models in November. The UMTS handsets portfoliowill be continuously extended to match the GSM handsets offer in near future.For laptops, the PCMCIA Merlin U630 data card produced by Novatel Wireless isavailable from CZK 995. Cooperation with Nokia and Ericsson Besides Nokia, the supplier of UMTS network infrastructure, Eurotel alsocooperates with Ericsson in the rollout of the UMTS network. Ericsson suppliespart of technology platforms supporting value added services in the UMTSnetwork. Patricia Curutchet Styf, Managing Director of ERICSSON describes howimportant the cooperation is: "Our technology will enable the customers ofEurotel to use the most demanded third generation services such as videodownloading or video calls between telephone and PC from the very beginning. Webelieve that these new value added services will attract much interest in theUMTS services among Eurotel customers, and will facilitate fast expansion ofUMTS in the Czech Republic." Coverage By the end of 2005 Eurotel's UMTS network signal will cover the area of Pragueand downtown Brno. Next year Eurotel will cover other cities in the CzechRepublic as well. When rolling out the signal coverage Eurotel will first coverlarger cities and densely populated areas, then towns and areas with lesspopulation. Eurotel plans to cover more than 50 % of the Czech population overthe next two years. Extensive international connectivity and roaming will bealso provided. Eurotel customers will be able to use UMTS services when theytravel in almost 40 counties of the world. Data transmission speed The initial maximum data transmission speed in the UMTS network will be up to384 kbit/s. Eurotel will accelerate the transmission speed up to 1.8 Mbit/s bylaunching HSDPA technology at the beginning of the next year. Over the next twoyears the speed will grow up to 14.4 Mbit/s. In combination with the CDMA20001EVxDO technology - that is currently being used by 56 thousand customers -Eurotel will provide access to high-speed mobile data communication to more than80 % of the Czech population. There is no other operator in the Czech Republicwhich offers a comparable level of coverage, speed and internationalcompatibility of mobile data transmission. Eurotel Praha, spol. s r. o., reported more than 4.4 million customers in itsnetwork at the end of June 2005. The mobile telephone networks of Eurotel 900/1800 MHz and 450 MHz cover a territory which has 99 percent of the populationof the Czech Republic ( more than 10 million people). Eurotel holds a UMTSlicense for the operation of 3rd generation mobile services. As well as services for post-paid customers on billed tariffs, Eurotel offersprepaid cards under the brand name Go and a full range and content ofmulti-media services, including video, MMS, voice services, WAP and SMS. Eurotelis the only mobile operator in the Czech Republic which offers the two mostadvanced GSM (wireless) data transfer technologies. General Packet Radio Service(GPRS) and GSM High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data (HSCSD) are available tocontractual customers and customers with prepaid services. Eurotel as the firstoperator in Europe offers the CDMA2000 1xEV-DO high speed Internet access in its450 MHz network. The high quality of Eurotel services includes SuperSoundtechnology, which ensures a clean voice connection and 397 roaming partners in160 countries around the world. Eurotel, the winner of the 2004 Czech Republic National Quality Award, providesthe top quality telecommunications services; the fact has been confirmed by theinternational quality certificate ISO 9001:2000. The company as the onlytelecommunications operator in the Czech Republic was also awarded the followingcertificates - ISO 14001:1996 Environmental Management, OHSAS 18001:1999Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, and BS 7799-2:2002Information Security Management. Independent auditors of management systemsconfirmed that Eurotel had established operation systems that ensure quality,efficiency, reliability and protection of information relating to the entirerange of services provided nationwide. Eurotel Praha is a limited liability company (spol. s r. o.), and is owned(100%) by CESKY TELECOM, a. s. For further information please contact: Eurotel Praha, spol. s r. o. Diana Dobalova Chief External & Internal Communication Officer +420 720 70 44 00 diana_dobalova@eurotel.cz and Pavel Kaidl Spokesperson +420 720 70 55 07 pavel_kaidl@eurotel.cz This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange