July 19, 2006 - Telefonica O2 Czech Republic has launched a pilot operation for Internet protocol television (IPTV), offering the firm’s employees around 30 programs, including the opportunity to download films on demand, during the first phase. The offer includes Czech and Slovak channels, along with news, documentary and children’s channels. There are about 250 films available for download. At the same time, the pilot operation will test the sales channels of these services. The company wants to expand coverage progressively in the same manner as it has been doing for broadband Internet, which has gradually become available to 90% of all fixed telephone lines over two years.

Telefonica O2 Czech Republic will begin offering television through fixed telephone lines in the third quarter of 2006. It will be possible to watch television in the MPEG4 format. In order to preserve the comparable quality and the same resolution as digital television, half data stream is sufficient in comparison to the MPEG2 codec. The operator is thus able to work with a data stream of around 2.8 Mbps speed, while the speed is around 4-5 Mbps for digital broadcasting.

Because of the upcoming offer, Telefonica O2 Czech Republic is gradually launching the new ADSL 2+ technology, which will more than double the current speed of fixed telephone lines. The new capacity will thus be fully used for IPTV.

The operator adopted the service from its parent company Telefonica, which has been offering it commercially since 2004 under the name Imagenio. In Spain, 300,000 households are using it at this time.

MARTIN ŽABKA
tiskový mluvcí
tel: +420 800 163 342 (800 1 MEDIA)
fax: +420 271 469 896
e-mail: [email protected]

About Telefónica O2 Czech Republic

Telefónica O2 Czech Republic, a.s.., is the first integrated operator in the Czech Republic formed on 1 July 2006 by the merger of the leading fixed line operator, CESKY TELECOM, a.s., and the strongest mobile operator, Eurotel Praha, spol. s r.o., into a single telecommunications organization. The organization is now operating nearly eight million lines, both fixed and mobile, making it one of the world’s biggest integrated operators.

Telefónica O2 Czech Republic offers the most comprehensive portfolio of voice and data services in this country. A special attention is paid to the exploitation of the growth potential, in particular the data and Internet business. Telefónica O2 Czech Republic operates the largest fixed and mobile network including a unique 3rd generation network, CDMA (for data) and UMTS, enabling the transport of voice, data and video. Furthermore, Telefónica O2 Czech Republic offers the largest network of WiFi hotspots in the country.

About Telefónica

Telefónica O2 Czech Republic is a member of a powerful international group, Telefónica S.A., presented in 19 countries whose customer base includes more than 180 million clients worldwide. Nowadays, Telefónica ranks among the most dynamic telecommunications companies with a strong position in Western Europe and Latin America.

Measured by market capitalization, Telefónica S.A. represents one of the global leaders in the telecommunications industry. The business activities are primarily focused on fixed and mobile markets, with broadband regarded as a key to a successful development.

About O2

Telefónica O2 Czech Republic is part of the O2 Group within Telefónica SA. It will adopt the O2 brand for all consumer-facing activities.

O2 comprises mobile network operators in the UK and Ireland, along with integrated fixed/mobile businesses in Germany and the Czech Republic. It also owns 50% of the Tesco Mobile and Tchibo Mobilfunk joint venture businesses in the UK and Germany respectively as well as having 100% ownership of Be, a leading UK fixed broadband provider. In addition, the group includes O2 Airwave, which supplies secure digital communications to the emergency services and other public safety organisations.

O2, a Telefónica company, is headquartered in Slough, UK, and has more than 35 million customers across Europe.