Czechs rank top mobile callers in EU
 

Prague, July 28 (CTK) - There is no other country in the EU where mobile phones are used as much as in the Czech Republic, the Lidove noviny (LN) daily writes Monday citing a study of German association Bitkom. As many as 64 percent of Czech households have only a mobile phone, not a fixed line, the daily adds.
The Czech Republic is thus clearly the number one in this respect, followed by Finland (61 percent), Lithuania (53 percent) and Hungary (50 percent), LN says.
Before the Iron Curtain's fall, it was difficult in Eastern European countries in general to get a fixed line. The situation has gradually improved but many people preferred to buy a mobile phone, LN writes citing Bitkom's spokesman Maurice Shahd.
LN notes that the Czech Republic is exceptional also as regards post-communist countries. While in 2007 only 31 percent of Czech households had a fixed line, in Hungary it was 42 percent and in Poland 62 percent.
"Our latest poll shows that 96 percent of Czechs use mobile phones, not including small children," Czech Telecoms Office (CTU) spokeswoman Dana Makrlikova told LN.
Just 4 percent of Czechs have only a fixed line, LN adds.


[via Prague Monitor, http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/388/...al_news/26060/ ]

Even in other European countries where fixed lines where more readily available, people still turn to mobile phones...

In Greece for example, where most households (used to) have a fixed line, the percentage is decreasing...

Fixed operators must find ways to keep their customers, besides those who sign up for (let's say) double or triple play packages and have to get a fixed phone line in the bundle (which they might never use even if it offers unlimited fixed to fixed calling)...

BT with the acquistition of ribbit is going towards the right direction I think! Fixed line should be integrated into computers and new services like virtual voicemail or call forwarding to a computer along with "Facebook caller ID" or direct calls from Facebook and other sites without disclosing the phone number etc. should be totally integrated in the fixed phone... Or the fixed phone, mobile phone and internet connection should all be integrated into each other if fixed phone companies want to continue making money out of fixed phones...

Hmm, in Poland there are still pretty many landlines but I suppose that they are counted "by numbering range", not by "used technology" and the number may be oveestimated by several percent. Hundreds of thousands fixed lines are connected via GSM or CDMA, not via cable. Also VoIP numbers are landline by numbering (either one of 49 geographical area codes or the non-geografical 39 prefix). Personally, I know two households that claim not to have landlines but in fact they have VoIP landline numbers :-). Also many people have active landline numbers only because they are mandatorily "bundled" with DSL internet access from Polish Telecom :-P

Some rural Polish landlines are still connected using the old Centertel analog network, aren't they?

Yes, but they are currently being switched to Orange GSM. The NMT network is to be closed by the end of this year.

This is some interesting news. I am just curious as to what may have triggered this sudden increase in their consumption? And are the mobile rates in Czech Republic really that low?