Cesky Telecom announced the launching of a new service with a flat fee for a dial-up connection. It is intended for customers who actively use a dial-up Internet connection. However, the number of dial-up customers has been decreasing in recent years. Last year, the number fell by 150,000. There are about 500,000 users of this kind of connection. Competing services include ADSL, which is used by 240,000 customers. This information is neutral and we reiterate our HOLD recommendation.
The CEO of Eurotel, Salvator Anglada, stated in an interview with CTK that despite the saturation of the Czech mobile phone market, the volume of mobile numbers should increase by 2-3% to 112% next year, which means 300,000 new SIM cards. Furthermore, he expects dynamic developments in the UMTS mobile network, which Eurotel launched 1 December. Next year, Eurotel will focus on data services and corporate customers. The operator intends to keep its oldest NMT network, which is used for CMDA data services. This information is market neutral. We reiterate our Hold recommendation.