RadioMobil renames itself T-Mobile, reports profit increase

The second biggest Czech mobile phone operator RadioMobil which calls its network Paegas, is to undergo a complete rebranding. RadioMobil is owned by international mobile communications provider T-Mobile, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom which wants to rename all its operations worldwide to T-Mobile. The change will cost hundreds of millions of Czech crowns. Observers say the brand name Paegas has been built for five years in the Czech Republic and is known to the absolute majority of the population. They warn that the change to T-Mobile, which does not sound very good in Czech and may be difficult to pronounce for many people, may have a negative impact on the company's performance. The name switch is planned to be complete by November.

Meanwhile, RadioMobil reported that in 2001, its net profit grew by 48 percent as the company continued to add subscribers at a record pace. Full-year net profit rose to 2.5 billion CZK from 1.7 billion in 2000.

RadioMobil said it invested billions in 2001 to improve its network coverage and purchase a third-generation mobile phone license that will also give it more bandwidth in the GSM spectrum in coming years.

The company claimed a total of 2.85 million subscribers at the end of 2001, up from 1.86 million at the end of 2000. The total subscriber base has since topped 3 million clients, nearly a half of the country's all mobile phone users.