For the first time in the Czech Republic, a single operator earned more than 500,000 new customers in one year

• More than 500,000 people gave precedence to Paegas services on buying a mobile telephone
• In the first 15 minutes of the year 2000, the Paegas network attended to 468,000 calls, so it is possible to say that every second Paegas customer used his or her mobile telephone to wish people a Happy New Year in 2000
• In the first 15 minutes of the year 2000, the Paegas network attended to 468,000 calls, so it is possible to say that every second Paegas customer used his or her mobile telephone to wish people a Happy New Year in 2000

At the end of 1999, more than 875,000 customers were registered with RadioMobil a.s., which is 502,000 more customers than at the end of 1998. The number of customers using Paegas services has therefore grown year-on-year by 135 per cent, which is 50 percentage points higher than the growth in the number of customers of the other Czech mobile telephone operator in its two networks combined. "Thanks to the publics interest in Paegas services, the number of mobile telephone owners in the Czech Republic more than doubled to 1,945,000, so the market penetration - or, to put it another way, the number of mobile telephones per 100 people - is now very close to 19 per cent," said Tereza Kakosová, press spokeswoman for RadioMobil a.s. Last year, 985,000 people purchased a mobile telephone in the Czech Republic.,

During the course of 1999, the number of people who opted for Paegas services amounted to almost 20,000 more than the number of people who opted for one of the two existing networks of the other operator. Customers are choosing Paegas not only because of the favourable tariff programmes, which all offer free minutes of calls, but also on account of Paegass superior range of services, which are matched by no other operator. For instance, only owners of Paegas mobile telephones can manage their bank accounts using SIM Toolkit technology thanks to agreements between RadioMobil and both Expandia Banka and InvestiÄŤní a poštovní banka. Similarly, Paegas customers are the only ones who can use Paegas Asistent services. "Furthermore, every Paegas mobile telephone owner can make calls within the network at favourable prices without having to pay any extra charge, while the same price advantages apply to calls to other mobile networks, so that it often turns out to be less expensive to use Paegas to call other mobile networks than to use a telephone from that same network," continued Tereza Kakosová.

In the first 15 minutes of the year, the Paegas network realised 468,000 calls, which means that almost every second customer used his or her mobile telephone, because this figure amounts to 0.54 calls per customer, a higher figure than in the case of the other operator. "Mobile phone use in the final minutes of last year and the first minutes of this year was 1,000 per cent higher than at the busiest time on an ordinary working day," commented Tereza Kakosová.

RadioMobil a.s. is the operator of the GSM network called Paegas. The Paegas GSM network now covers more than 99% of the Czech Republic. Using roaming services via 163 operators, customers can now take their Paegas GSM mobile telephones to almost 80 different countries around the world, where they can use their telephones at unrivalled prices thanks to the low cost of international calls in the Paegas network. RadioMobil is thus the undisputed leader in the number of roaming partners. At the end of 1999, there were more than 875,000 customers of the Paegas GSM network, into which RadioMobil invested 6 billion Czech crowns in 1999 alone, which is 1 billion Czech crowns more than the other operator.

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.