Eurotel And Cesky Telecom Become O2

[Effendi]

O2 to replace Cesky Telecom, Eurotel brands

Prague, Aug 20 (CTK) - Telecommunication company Telefonica O2 will start to change the brand names Cesky Telecom and Eurotel to O2 in September.

The changes will be accompanied by an offer of new services, among them TV broadcasts over fixed lines.

According to unconfirmed reports, the transfer to the brand name O2 is to be gradual.

Experts put the costs of the brand name?s change, including a publicity campaign, at several hundreds of millions of crowns.

Telefonica O2 Czech Republic emerged on July 1 through the merger of dominant fixed-line operator Cesky Telecom and mobile carrier Eurotel, in which Cesky Telecom held 100 percent.

Telefonica bought 51 percent in Cesky Telecom from the state for CZK 82.6 billion last year and now controls 70 percent in the company.

The company has over 2.8 million fixed lines and 4.77 million cell phone users in the Czech Republic.