15th May 2006 10:23
Cesky Telecom A.S.15 May 2006 PRESS RELEASE Eurotel to Close NMT Based Voice Services at the Beginning of June Prague, 12th May 2006 - Eurotel Praha spol. s r.o. has decided to end voicetraffic in its NMT network operating in the 450 MHz band. NMT services will beceased at the end of June and beginning of July. As voice operations on theolder analogue technology network are closed, all T!P voice services using theoutdated analogue technology will be ceased and customers will be providedaccess to voice services on Eurotel's GSM and UMTS networks with their existingnumber and tariffs ; they will also benefit from advantageous migration offers. "It is increasingly difficult and very costly to maintain the outdated NMTanalogue technology in operation and this is why we decided now to terminate NMToperations. To our knowledge we are the last operator in Europe to close NMTbased voice services - we kept it operating out of a recognition of a socialneed to service remaining customers" says Andrei Marc Torriani, Chief CommercialOfficer of Eurotel Praha, spol. s r.o. and adds: "We will carry that socialobligation forward and provide all NMT customers the ability to migrate to ourmodern GSM and UMTS networks without having to change their numbers and keep thesame low tariffs they have today." All existing customers of voice T!P services will soon receive their migrationoffers. NMT A public telecommunication network operating in the 450 MHz network based on theNMT technology (Nordic Mobile Telecommunications) was launched in September1991. At the time Eurotel became the first operator offering commercial mobiletelecommunications services to general public in the Czech Republic. The digitalGSM network operating in 900 and 1800 bands was launched in 1996 and introducedthe new mobile telephony generation. It brought new voice and data services suchas SMS, MMS, WAP, Internet and facilitated mass spreading of the services. Thenumber of customers using the NMT network has been gradually declining (and sohas its importance for voice services). CDMA Operation in the network will not be terminated after voice services are closeddown. In August 2004 Eurotel upgraded the network by implementing CDMAtechnology and as the first operator in the Czech Republic started to provide3rd generation data services. Its quality signal and coverage are now used fordata transmission and high-speed Internet access, the speed of data transmissionis up to 1 Mbit/s. The network can be accessed by more than 80 % of the Czechpopulation now; the number of customers using the network for wirelesshigh-speed Internet access has just recently passed 80 thousand. Eurotel Praha, spol. s r. o., is the Czech Republic's leading mobiletelecommunications operator, providing comprehensive mobile voice and dataservices to nearly 4.7 million customers (March 2006). The company was foundedin 1991 and, owing to the quality of its services, the range of the solutions itprovides, its level of innovation, and its customer care, it is number one onthe Czech market. In co-operation with its 100% owner, CESKY TELECOM, a. s., it offers the mostcomprehensive portfolio of voice and data services in the Czech Republic,supported by a unique combination of fixed and mobile telephony. These servicesare available for both tariff and pre-paid customers. Eurotel has also held theleading position in the corporate segment of the Czech market for a long time. In the Czech Republic, Eurotel operates NMT and networks as well as a unique 3rdgeneration network - a CDMA2000 1xEV-DO data network and a brand new UMTSnetwork that enables the transmission of data, voice, images and video. Togetherwith CESKY TELECOM it also operates the country's largest network of WiFihotspots. Eurotel was awarded the prestigious Employer of the Year award in 2003; in 2004it placed second among mobile operators in the same assessment. Eurotel alsoholds an internationally-recognised ISO 9001:2003 quality management systemcertificate and is the only Czech telecommunications operator to have beenawarded the ISO 14001 environmental management system certificate. The companyalso holds certificates for occupational safety and health and for informationsecurity. Eurotel is the only operator to have been awarded a certificate forbeing a Health-Supporting Business, which it received in 2005. In 2002 Eurotelincorporated a foundation that supports several projects, especially those aimedat children and youth throughout the country, every year. Pavel KaidlSpokesperson+420 720 70 55 [email protected] This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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