BUCHAREST, Romania-The recent licensing of a third mobile operator in the Czech Republic has established more competition in the country’s wireless market than in the wireline arena. In addition to three cellular licenses, the country has one RDS and two ERMES paging operators, the largest and most sophisticated wireless local loop (WLL) network in Eastern and Central Europe, and a trunked radio market that is continually growing.
The country has progressed quickly since the decline of Communism. In the early ’90s, teledensity of the Czech Republic was minimal, the infrastructure was inefficient and outdated, and the waiting period for getting a residential telephone was at least five years.
Privatization
Regulation for the communications industry is based on a document called “The Basic Principles of Telecommunications Policy,” adopted in 1994 by the Czech government. According to this document, telecommunications services can be provided under the condition of free competition. The only exception is basic international and long-distance telephone services, which will be provided by the national wireline operator, SPT Telecom, until 2000.
As with the wireline sector, liberalization of the wireless communications sector came in 1995. That year, the government licensed a second cellular operator, RadioMobil. Until then, the market was monopolized by Eurotel Praha, part of SPT Telecom, the state-owned company. Eurotel is now a joint venture between wireline Czech operator SPT Telecom and Atlantic West, which is a Bell Atlantic and MediaOne partnership.
Privatization in the Czech Republic is now almost finalized. Theoretically and practically, communications operators are privately owned or partially privately owned.
The state owns just 51 percent of SPT Telecom, and following current trends in Europe and throughout the world, the state’s shares of this operator are expected to decrease.
WLL
In addition to the competitive cellular industry, the country’s other wireless markets are thriving. The centers of most Czech towns include ancient buildings and narrow streets. These conditions make telecommunications coverage difficult.
One solution to this problem is wireless local loop (WLL), which is often easier to install in dense areas and older buildings than wireline technology. Wireless operators are currently running pilot WLL networks based on DECT, AMPS and CDMA technologies.
SPT Telecom has implemented WLL networks with technology supplied by Hughes Network Systems. Hughes’ AirReach GMH-R Extended TDMA IS-136 technology handles almost 270,000 calls a day. In Prague, the system is configured for more than 43,000 customers, and the system has almost reached its capacity with 35,000 subscribers, the majority of which are business customers.
SPT Telecom is also running trial WLL networks based on solutions from Tadiran, Siemens, Ericsson and Lucent Technologies.
Operators Rann Globalnet and Kabel Plus also operate WLL networks in the Czech Republic, based on TDMA technology from Ericsson and Nortel.
Trunked Radio
The trunked radio market will increase to 22,000 subscribers by 2000, according to the International Mobile Telecommunications Association. More than 20 commercial trunked radio licenses have been granted to operators. The largest operator is Mobilkom, which is a joint venture between ConnecTel and Motorola.
Paging
Operator Radiokontakt owns the RDS paging system and one of the two ERMES networks. Multitone CZ owns the second ERMES network.
The ERMES paging operators are targeting a 2-percent paging penetration level by 2003. Due to the problems plaguing the worldwide paging industry, the problem may not be in how many years the paging companies will reach this figure, but how they will meet the penetration goal.
