Mobiles outstrip fixed-line phones on Czech telecommunications market
The number of mobile phone users in the Czech Republic has now exceeded the number of fixed-line telephones provided by the country's monopoly telecommunications operator Czech Telecom. There are now some four and a half million mobile users, and just under 4 million fixed lines.
The number of mobile phone users in the Czech Republic has now exceeded the number of fixed-line telephones provided by the country's monopoly telecommunications operator Czech Telecom. There are now some four and a half million mobile users, and just under 4 million fixed lines.
The increase in the number of mobiles provided by the country's three main operators - Eurotel, Radiomobil and Cesky Mobil - is way above estimates from the beginning of the year. Even before Christmas, Eurotel announced that they'd increased their customer base from 1.1 to 2 million, while Radiomobil, more commonly known as Paegas, has reported more than half a million new clients. Cesky Mobil, which trades under the name Oskar, is the newest mobile phone operator in the country. We talked to Cesky Mobil spokesman Igor Prerovsky, who confirmed his company had had a very successful year: The rise in mobile phone use is largely thanks to growing competition between the three operators, which has helped to cut prices substantially. Czech Telecom, meanwhile, is complaining of stagnation in the market. Spokesman Vladan Crha says the number of phone lines installed this year, 15,000, is much lower than in previous years. Experts estimate that within ten years almost every person in the country will own a mobile.
