- O2 (Czech Republic)
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Telefónica Czech Republic, a.s. 
Type Public Industry Telecommunications Founded 2006 (merger of Český Telecom & Eurotel) Headquarters Michle, Prague, Czech Republic Products Voice, Internet access, Mobile communications services & related goods, ICT Revenue 
Kč55.7 billion (2010)[1]Operating income 
Kč15.5 billion (2010)[1]Employees 7 522[1] Parent Telefónica S.A. Subsidiaries Telefónica O2 Slovakia; Telefónica O2 Business Solution; CZECH TELECOM Austria GmbH; CZECH TELECOM Germany GmbH Website www.cz.o2.com 
Former Český Telecom logo
Former Eurotel logoTelefónica Czech Republic (operating under the O2 brand) is a major integrated operator in the Czech Republic. It is now operating more than six million lines, both fixed and mobile, making it one of the world’s leading providers of fully converged services. The organization offers the most comprehensive portfolio of voice and data services in this country. It is paying special attention to the exploitation of the growth potential, particularly in the data and Internet sector. Telefónica Czech Republic operates the largest fixed and mobile network including a 3rd generation network, CDMA (for data), UMTS and EDGE, enabling voice, data and video transmission. Telefónica Czech Republic is also a notable provider of ICT services
Previously two companies, fixed-line operator Český Telecom and mobile operator Eurotel, it was acquired by the Spanish company Telefónica in 2005 and merged into a single legal entity and given its present name on 1 July 2006. The company is run by Telefónica's European mobile business Telefónica Europe and the CEO of the Czech unit is Luis Antonio Malvido.
History
The company was initially known as SPT Telecom (Státní telekomunikační podnik, state-owned telecommunications company), and used to have a monopoly for providing fixed-line services. It was reorganized and renamed Český Telecom (Czech Telecom), after the Velvet Divorce saw Czechoslovakia separate into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.
Its mobile subsidiary, Eurotel, was founded in 1990 as a joint venture between SPT (51%) and the American joint venture Atlantic West (between US WEST International, Inc. and Bell Atlantic International Inc.). On launch it received an exclusive five-year licence to operate a public data network, and a 20-year licence for the 450 MHz band to operate an analogue NMT mobile phone network, and automatically also a right to buy a licence to the future GSM network.
In 2001, it won a license to the third-generation UTMS network. It paid 1 billion korunas immediately, and promised to pay an additional 2.5 billion korunas annually. It also agreed to launch the service commercially, at least in Prague, by 1 January 2005. In 2003, it received a one-year extension in exchange for faster payments. In 2005 it was granted another year-long extension due to the granting of a third licence to Vodafone. In the event, UMTS services launched on 1 November 2005. On 1 May 2006, the company launched HSDPA services on top of UMTS services.
In 2004 it launched CDMA/1xEV-DO broadband wireless service (data-only) at 450 MHz, leveraging its legacy NMT network.
Type of service Number of customers (in thousands) at the end of the year 2010 2009 Fixed lines 1 669 1 771 ADSL 806 725 Pay TV – O2 TV 129 138 Active mobile users in the Czech Republic 4 839 4 945 – postpaid 2 864 2 814 – prepaid 1 975 2 130 Active mobile users in the Slovakia 880 553 References
External links
Telefónica Europe Annual Revenue: €13.54 billion (2009) · Employees: 29,400 (2009) · Parent: Telefónica, S.A.Subsidiaries Products Services Acquisitions Ventures giffgaff · Tesco MobileRelated 
CategoryCzech mobile phone companies AAA Auto · CETV · ČEZ · Erste Group Bank · FORTUNA · KIT digital · Komerční banka · NWR · ORCO · Pegas Nonwovens · Philip Morris CR · Telefónica O2 C.R. · Unipetrol · Vienna Insurance
Categories:- Telefónica Europe
- Telecommunications companies of the Czech Republic
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