CENTER - Sonus Networks Inc. recently opened a support center for Central and Eastern Europe in Prague to meet growing demand for voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP) services in Europe. Sonus sells VoIP infrastructure, the market for which is expected to grow faster in Europe than in North America and Asia.

INVESTMENT - JJS Electronics, a British electronics manufacturer, announced Nov. 10 the opening of a new facility in Chomutov, north Bohemia, for the assembly of electronic and electromechanical devices. The investment is expected to bring 120 to 200 new jobs to the region in the next two years.

TELECOM - Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica has started the process of changing Český Telecom's (ČT) name, Hospodářské noviny reported Nov. 21. The Spanish operator, which acquired ČT earlier this year, is still analyzing how much it will cost to change the name of the Czech Republic's dominant fixed-line provider to Telefonica.

NUMBERS - Mobile phone users usually don't want their numbers to be available to the public, Mladá fronta Dnes reported Nov. 21. Only 0.6 percent of T-Mobile clients have agreed to list their names in a public cell phone database. Mediatel will publish the database in its Yellow Pages.

LOYALTY - Number portability will be available for all mobile phone users beginning in January 2006, Mladá fronta Dnes reported Nov. 21. Approximately 300,000 people — or between 2 percent to 3 percent of Eurotel, T-Mobile and Oskar Vodafone customers — are expected to switch providers.

CONTRACT - Siemens Business Services, a division of the multifaceted Siemens company, recently signed a contract with the City Hall of Ostrava, north Moravia, for providing information systems designed to facilitate better communication between the city and its citizens.

DOMAINS - At least three companies that register Czech online domain names are accepting orders for domains ending in '.eu,' according to media reports. Citizens and corporations in the European Union will be able to buy .eu domains, which will cost at least 2,000 Kč ($80) here, starting Dec. 7.

OSKAR - Mobile operator Oskar Vodafone had nearly 17 percent more clients, or 2.038 million, at the end of September compared with the same period in 2004. Average monthly revenue per SIM card increased 22 Kč year on year to 679 Kč. Clients with monthly contracts paid 966 Kč a month on average, while pay-as-you-go clients spent some 342 Kč.