RadioMobil Willing to Pay from 1.5bn to 2.5bn for UMTS Licence

At the time the preparation of the tender for UMTS licences culminates in the Czech Republic, adequate prices for these licences are being discussed in the media, the starting point being the expected revenues for the state budget at the amount of CZK 20 billion.

RadioMobil considers the requirement of earning at least CZK 20 billion from the sale of UMTS licences in the Czech Republic as absolutely unrealistic, irrespective of whether three or four licences are awarded. Solely the provision of licences under affordable conditions will support the promising development of mobile telecommunications infrastructure in the Czech Republic, including a positive effect on other branches of the national economics, and will protect the capital market from other shocks caused by inadequate fees for UMTS licences paid in some Western-European countries last year.

Based on the most recent technological knowledge, there is a realistic expectation that UMTS, as a technological innovation of the existing GSM network, will bring users the availability of a quality connection to the Internet, electronic mail or remote medical examination, quicker contact with the local and national administration etc. All this, however, is only possible provided that this technology will be really accessible to the general public. â?śWith respect to the latest development in European countries and based on independent studies we consider as adequate the price of the UMTS licence in the Czech Republic from CZK 1.5 to 2.5 billion, depending on other conditions of services provision,â?ť says Managing Director of the Company Roland Mahler. â?śWe believe that within the trend of supporting the development of new technologies established by the present Government the UMTS licences should be sold approximately at this acceptable price level, which will lead especially to lower prices of services and their much greater availability for the customers,â?ť added Mahler.

The joint-stock company RadioMobil is the operator of a GSM 900/1800 MHz network called Paegas. Since 1996, when RadioMobil entered the Czech market and brought in competition, it has obtained more than two million customers. RadioMobil sells prepaid services under the brand Paegas Twist, which is the most successful prepaid service in the Czech market, providing its users with a whole range of services such as data and fax connection, GSM Banking based on the SIM Toolkit standard, Paegas Assistant services, access to WAP services and furthermore it offers a free e-mail ClickBox Easy. Paegas Click is another brand of RadioMobil, focused on customers with Internet or WAP access. At www.click.cz they can easily configure services as well as for instance use a comprehensive e-mail box based on the unified messaging technology.

RadioMobil belongs to the Deutsche Telekom Group - one of the worldâ??s biggest telecommunication operators. Through its subsidiary company T-Mobil (Deutsche Telekomâ??s mobile operator) it owns 87.3% in the CMobil consortium. Other shareholders of CMobil are: STET Mobile Holdings N.V. (12%) and PVT a.s. (0.7%). The international CMobil consortium now owns 60.8% of RadioMobil whose second biggest shareholder is the company ÄŚeské radiokomunikace.

Today, the Paegas GSM network covers over 99% of the Czech population and 99.8% of first class roads. Only during the year 2000 the number of transmitters increased by 750 and thus reached 2500 by the end of the year. Last year, investments only in the network exceeded nine billion crowns. RadioMobil customers may use their mobile phones in networks of 212 operators from 91 countries of the whole world (129 various locations altogether). At the end of June 2001, more than 2,243,140 customers were using Paegas services.

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.