- The total number of customers increased year-on-year by 6.3%
- Double-digit growth in the number of contract customers
- The number of mobile handsets sold was higher by almost 30%
Prague, 26 January 2006 - Last year, T-Mobile Czech Republic continued to strengthen its position in the Czech mobile communications market. By the end of 2005, T-Mobile was providing its services to 4.63 million customers, which represents a year-on-year increase of more than 274 thousand customers. The company has also strengthened its leadership position in the contract-customer segment (post-paid) - the number of contract customers grew by 16.6% to a total of almost 1.3 million. The number of handsets sold was also significantly higher; more than 873 thousand handsets were sold in 2005, which represents a year-on-year increase of 29%.
"The year 2005 represented a breakthrough for us - we became the number one operator in terms of active SIM cards and thus achieved our goal set in the fall of 2003," says Roland Mahler, Managing Director of T-Mobile, adding: "It is understandable that growth in a saturated market is slowing down; nevertheless, we are convinced that this year we will again be able to offer customers what they really want and we will continue to build on our achievements."
The customer base grew year-on-year by 6.3% to the current total number of 4.63 million. T-Mobile recorded significant growth in the contract-customer segment - as of 31 December 2005, almost 1.3 million contract customers were using its services, which means 16.6% more compared with the end of 2004. The number of pre-paid Twist card owners slightly increased by 2.8% to 3.3 million.
The largest additions to the customer base in 2005 were recorded in the third and fourth quarters. Attractive new products and services introduced by T-Mobile during last year, such as the summer offer of "double the amount of free minutes", interesting incentives in the Twist Bonus loyalty program, a package of ten times the amount of free minutes and the traditional Christmas offer, were positively reflected in the customer-base growth. Those interested in mobile data certainly welcomed the significant extension of EDGE coverage and the launch of the first UMTS network in the Czech Republic.
T-Mobile customers were also more interested in purchasing mobile handsets - in 2005, more than 873 thousand mobile handsets were sold, which means 29% more than in 2004.
| TMCZ | 31 December 2004 | 31 December 2005 | Change |
| Customer base | 4,359,980 | 4,634,165 | 6.3 % |
| Post-paid | 1,104,630 | 1,287,582 | 16.6 % |
| Pre-paid | 3,255,350 | 3,346,583 | 2.8 % |
| Mobile handsets and Twist sets sold | 676,248 | 873,162 | 29.1 % |
Since 2002, T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s. has been a member of the T-Mobile International Group. The number of customers of T-Mobile International majority owned companies increased from 69.2 to 77.4 million in 2005. Net customer additions at T-Mobile International grew by approx. 12% last year, which is roughly the same figure as in 2004. (For the entire T-Mobile International report, see here).