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Tech & Telecom Headlines

August 23rd, 2006 | Current Issue

Three-pronged attack
UPC-Karneval merger to challenge Telefónica O2's telecom dominance

Iguassu Software to help guide ESA
Czech company assists satellite-navigation projects

BRIEFS


  • RADAR -
    • The military will receive the first of two radar systems from Sweden and seven anti-aircraft missiles later this year, a Defense Ministry spokesman told the Czech News Agency (ČTK). The technology will replace outdated Soviet systems. The systems will cost nearly 1 billion Kč ($45.5 million). The other radar system will be delivered next year.

  • PASSPORTS -
    • New Czech passports containing the biometric data of their holders are impossible to copy, Hospodářské noviny reported Aug. 10. The chips will differ from those of German and U.S. passports, which have been copied by some computer experts. The new passports will be distributed starting Sept. 1.

  • FINE -
    • The Czech Telecommunications Office (ČTÚ) will force phone operator Telefónica O2 to pay another 43 million Kč to Internet service provider Tiscali for unpaid dial-up Internet fees from 2005, Tiscali announced Aug. 8. The ČTÚ previously ordered Telefónica O2 to pay Tiscali 23 million Kč for the same reason. Telefónica O2 will not be able to appeal the decision.

  • FACTORY -
    • Toshiba will likely choose the Czech Republic for its 50 million euro ($64 million/1.4 billion Kč) LCD television factory, the Polish Puls Biznesu reported Aug. 9. The company is considering Poland and the Czech Republic for the factory, which could employ as many as 1,000 people. Toshiba, in a joint venture with Hitachi and Matsushita, has already committed some 90 million euros to a similar factory in the country.

  • PROFITS -
    • Czech mobile operator T-Mobile's first-half net profits fell 11.6 percent for the first six months of 2006, compared with first half of 2005, the company announced Aug. 10. T-Mobile netted 2.68 billion Kč in the first six months of this year while increasing its customer base nearly 100,000 clients. The company cited write-offs as the reason for the decline.

  • NOVA -
    • Commercial station TV Nova has restructured its internal organization in preparation for new digital broadcasting and stock market rules, Chief Executive Officer Petr Dvořák told ČTK Aug. 10. The channel now has four units, including sports and original programming. Dvořák said Nova, which is owned by the U.S.-based Central European Media Enterprises, would like to have five or six channels in the future.

  • PLANT -
    • Siemens VDO Automotive plans to invest 1.2 billion Kč over the next five years into a new car electronics production plant in Trutnov, east Bohemia, a company spokesman said July 31. The plant was officially opened Aug. 1 and will employ nearly 200 people. Siemens has three other production plants throughout the country.

  • EXPATS -
    • The English-language Web portal Expats.cz, which focuses on providing information to the expatriate community, is celebrating its fifth anniversary online and recently launched a new annual publication called the Expats.cz Survival Guide. The portal has more than 50,000 visitors each month.

  • BRANDING -
    • The names Český Telecom and Eurotel will change to Telefónica O2 in September, Telefónica O2 announced Aug. 20. The change and advertising campaign will cost several hundred million crowns. Telefónica bought 51 percent of Český Telecom from the state for 82.6 billion Kč last year and now controls 70 percent.

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