TDE.L Regulatory News (TDE)

2 Aug 2005 08:30

Cesky Telecom A.S.02 August 2005 >PRESS RELEASE - 2. 8. 2005 > Regions show plenty of interest in broadband internet services from CESKYTELECOM The Pardubice and Hradec Kralove regions, as well as Vysocina, have experiencedthe fastest growth in broadband Internet users. However, Prague still has thegreatest number of ADSL lines, followed by the regions of Moravia-Silesia,Central Bohemia and South Moravia. "The latest statistics confirm that manypeople in these regions are interested in our new Internet Expres Home programs," says Petr Matejovsky, CESKY TELECOM's Product ADSL manager, addingthat the number of broadband Internet users in the regions have nearly doubledsince the beginning of the year. "We also expect rapid growth in the futurethanks to other attractive services, such as the recently launched Expres Klikservice," explains Mr. Matejovsky. Region Percentage of total ADSL connections installed as at 31 July 2005 South Bohemia 5,00% South Moravia 9,80% Carlsbad 2,71% Hradec Kralove 3,91% Liberec 4,40% Moravia-Silesia 10,69% Olomouc 4,73% Pardubice 2,74% Pilsen 4,10% Prague 28,70% Central Bohemia 9,94% Usti 5,76% Vysocina 3,01% Zlin 4,50% There are already 180 thousand subscribers to fixed-line broadband Internet. TheInternet Expres services are currently available in 1121 localities throughoutthe entire Czech Republic, which represents over 90% of all telephone lines.Since the beginning of the year, the number of localities covered by broadbandInternet has increased by 31%. According to a survey conducted by CESKY TELECOM, new customers order InternetExpres services primarily owing to the opportunity to be connected to theInternet 24 hours per day (74%), and like the fact that they only need to pay amonthly fee for their Internet access (41%). New customers use Internet Expresservices most frequently for searching for information (80%) and sending e-mail(82%). Many new customers also use the services for electronic banking (42%). Customers can order the Internet Expres service online at www.internetexpres.cz,where they can also confirm service availability for their telephone numbers.They can also get this confirmation through SMS. It is also possible to orderthe service by calling a toll-free telephone line on 800 123 456, at TELEPOINT,TELEPOINT Partner, and Eurotel sales points, and at hypermarkets. Whenpurchasing the self-installation package and as part of installation of theInternet Expres Home services, the customer receives a bonus that gives them theopportunity to send 200 SMSes from their fixed line free of charge. For further information, please contact: VLASTIMIL SRSEOPress SpokesmanTel: +420 271 463 359Fax: +420 271 469 896e-mail: tiskovy.odbor@ct.cz CESKY TELECOM, a. s., is the leading telecommunications company in the CzechRepublic. Through its subsidiary company Eurotel Praha, spol. s r.o., it alsohas a significant presence in the Czech mobile services market. Furtherinformation about the firm and the services it offers is available atwww.telecom.cz, which was rated as BestWeb 2003 in the WebTop100 survey. 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 centered 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