O2 and T-Mobile have started negotiations regarding the sharing of their LTE mobile networks. The goal of the potential cooperation is faster LTE rollout and better coverage, exceeding the regulatory requirements for 4G set forth by the Czech Telecommunications Office (CTO). A shared network would bring better service to more customers and make network maintenance easier. If a deal is reached, the carriers intend to begin sharing their networks by the end of 2014.

The networks would be shared on the whole territory of the Czech Republic, with the exception of Prague and Brno. While T-Mobile would become responsible for managing and maintaining the network in the west of the country, O2 would run the eastern part.

"We will bring LTE coverage to both urban as well as rural areas of the country. LTE sharing is becoming a trend in Europe, as shown by successful cases from Great Britain, Sweden, or France," says Luis Malvido, CEO of O2 Czech Republic. "We believe that fast development of 4G networks will benefit the Czech Republic as a whole," adds Malvido.

"Above all, this project would allow for a faster roll-out of fast mobile broadband in the entire country," says Milan Vašina, CEO of T-Mobile Czech Republic. "The efficiencies that we would achieve will allow for further investments into our infrastructure and services," he adds.

Notwithstanding the result of the negotiations, both carriers will meet all the regulatory requirements of the CTO regarding 4G development. Just like in other countries, the carriers will keep their network infrastructure separated and will operate according to their own business strategies.

Contacts
Hany Farghali
Spokesperson
public.relations.cz@telefonica.com
tel: 800 163 342 (800 1 media)

About Telefónica Czech Republic

O2 is the largest integrated telecommunications provider in the Czech market. At present we operate close to eight million mobile and fixed accesses, which ranks us among the market leaders in fully converged services in Europe. To users of mobile services in the Czech Republic we offer state-of-the-art HSPA+ and LTE technology. We have the most comprehensive proposition of voice and data services in the Czech Republic, and we actively exploit the growth potential of the various business lines, especially ICT. Our data centres, with total floor area of 7,300 square metres, rank us among the leaders in hosting, cloud and managed services. O2 data centres are the only ones in the Czech Republic and in Central Europe to have TIER III certification. With our O2 TV we are also the largest IPTV service provider in the Czech Republic. In January 2014, O2 became a member of the Czech investment group PPF.

PPF Group invests into multiple market segments such as banking and financial services, insurance, real estate, energy, metal mining, agriculture, retail and biotechnology. PPF's reach spans from Central and Eastern Europe to Russia and across Asia. PPF Group owns assets of EUR 22.113 billion (as at 30 June 2013).

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