Mobile communication in the Czech Republic is growing at a significantly brisker pace than elsewhere in the world. According to recent analyses, the number of users of GSM services increased worldwide from 70.7 million at the end of 1997 to 120 million in 1998, for growth of 70 percent. In the same period, the Paegas GSM network more than doubled its number of users, with growth of almost 120 percent. The Czech mobile communications market as a whole grew 83 percent last year. By the end of 1998, nearly every tenth resident of the Czech Republic used a mobile phone. "This is the third year RadioMobil has been offering services within the Paegas GSM network, and that's why we're glad that the ranks of our users continue to grow at such a quick pace," said RadioMobil spokeswoman Tereza Kakosová at a recent press conference.
"The Czech GSM mobile communications market is considered one of the most technologically advanced in the world, and we're pleased to play a significant role in that. I think the services we unveiled over the course of last year speak for themselves. But what pleases us even more is that users are utilizing the services and that they are seeking out our network precisely because of them," said RadioMobil marketing director Robert Chvátal.
The RadioMobil joint-stock company is the operator of the GSM network called Paegas. Its largest shareholders are České radiokomunikace a.s., with 51 percent, and the international consortium CMobil, which holds a 49 percent share. CMobil is made up of the German operator T-Mobil, the Italian operator TIM, PVT, Telekomunikační montáže Praha and Spořitelní kapitálová společnost.
The Paegas GSM network today covers more than 94 percent of the population of the Czech Republic. At the close of 1998, more than 375,000 customers were using the services of the Paegas GSM network. Customers can now take their Paegas mobile phones to 65 countries around the world and utilize the roaming services of 110 operators.