CZECH DEVELOPERS CAN EARN UP TO EUR 150.000

Application phase until April 11, 2014
Czech competition under the T-Mobile auspices

Prague, March 31, 2014 - After a successful start in 2013, Deutsche Telekom is once again holding its international "Telekom Innovation Contest 2014". Creative teams of students, entrepreneurs with startup ideas, young ICT startups or Telekom Group employees (i.e.T-Mobile employees in the Czech Republic) have until April 11 to submit their ideas at www.telekom-innovation-contest.com. The rewards include investments of up to EUR 150,000, inclusion in international startup programs, IT equipment and vocational consultations.

The finalists will be determined after international and national preliminary rounds. National preliminary rounds in the Czech Republic are being organized in Prague, Brno and Ostrava by the local T-Mobile company and by the hub:raum, Deutsche Telekom incubator. The winners will be determined from twelve finalists at the Champions Pitch event in Krakow, Poland, at the end of June 2014.

„The innovation support is an important part of our longtime strategy and helps us to develop our activities in a sustainable way and design new products for our customers“, Mr. Milan Hába, head of T-Mobile category and products management said. „Our innovation contest supports start-ups and students. We help to develop their interesting ideas further and implement them into our product portfolio,“ he addes.

The contest participants can submit their ideas in several categories. Two of them, „Cloud based productivity“ and „Future Media&Communication“ are supported particularly by the T-Mobile company in its function of the integrated ICT operator. Additional categories are: "Internet of Things", "Cyber Security", "Reality Data" and "Smart Energy".

The contest impacts are of a real nature and has certainly paid off for the winners of the 2013 contest: “Participating in     the Telekom Innovation Contest was an important step for us toward securing the right connections and taking our idea to the next level,” Mr. Ivan Klimek, CEO of the Slovak Excalibur company said.

In 2013, over 700 teams from 45 countries submitted 444 ideas. Out of 12 finalists from eight countries, Excalibur from Slovakia was the winner with an authentication solution for mobile devices. Cubilog from Hungary and Germany's Codeatelier startup took second and third place, respectively, with their "Homee" solution.

Agenda for the Innovation Contest 2014

Once the application period has expired on April 11, 2014, experts from Deutsche Telekom will view all submissions. The teams with the best ideas will be invited to national preliminary contests taking place in May in Athens, Bratislava, Budapest, Bucharest, Podgorica, Prague, Tel Aviv, Warsaw, Zagreb, and Berlin. In Berlin, the finalists must convince the panel of experts of their idea on a public stage at re:publica conference (May 6. – 8.).Teams from outside of Europe will also take part in a virtual contest round. The Champions Pitch event at the end of June in Krakow, Poland, will be the climax of a four-day startup training program. Afterwards, the winners will continue to develop their ideas in cooperation with Deutsche Telekom's national companies, i.e. T-Mobile in the Czech Republic.

 A longstanding innovation support

A longstanding and intensive support of innovations is being provided by the Deutsche Telekom Group and the T-Mobile company in the Czech Republic. The contest invitation „Cloud needs contest“ can be mentioned as an illustrious example oriented towards cloud applications enhancement with its kick-off in April 2014.

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.