Calendar of key events in 2011
January
Telefónica CR went live with its redesigned website www.o2.cz. Together with the redesign, Telefónica CR also introduced the electronic bill feature.
February
Telefónica CR published its audited consolidated financial results prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards for the fiscal year 2010. Consolidated revenues reached CZK 55.6 billion; net profit was up to CZK 12.3 billion.
Vladimír Dlouhý was cooped as member of the Supervisory Board, having succeeded Jaime Smith Basterra who had tendered his resignation.
Telefónica CR and T-Mobile Czech Republic signed a 3G network sharing agreement. The agreement concerned the areas not yet covered with signal. The sharing arrangement facilitated the network rollout and significantly improved the 3G coverage of both operators.
Telefónica CR took over more than 11,000 residential ADSL customers from VOLNÝ.
Telefónica CR came on board of Think Big, the ongoing pan-European social programme of Telefónica. The programme helps young people make a reality their ideas and projects to aid the communities in which they live.
March
Telefónica CR’s Network Demarcation project was recognised as the IT Project of the Year 2010 by the Czech Association of Information Technology Managers.
Employees of Telefónica CR raised CZK 394,265 in aid of the victims of the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. The Company matched this amount 100% to the total of CZK 788,350, and the donation was made to the humanitarian assistance organisation ADRA.
On its online portal www.chcidoo2.cz, Telefónica CR launched a Momma and Poppa application aimed at helping employees who are also parents to return back to work after maternity and parental leave.
April
According to a survey by Ipsos Tambor, Telefónica CR had the best mobile data service and the best mobile internet coverage, which made it the leader in the field of Czech mobile internet.
Telefónica CR launched VDSL, a new technology giving up to three times faster home internet.
Telefónica CR went live with its new campaign ‘Martin and Lucie’ for business and SME customers, which presented the benefits of products designed for this segment and improvements in customer care.
Telefónica Slovakia launched a new tariff O2 Filip with unlimited free calls within the network of O2 Slovakia.
An Ordinary General Meeting of shareholders of Telefónica CR was held. The shareholders approved, among other things, a proposal of the Board of Directors for the payment of a dividend of CZK 40 per share, before tax. Vladimír Dlouhý was elected substitute member of the Audit Committee and his co-optation as member of the Supervisory Board was confirmed.
May
Telefónica’s operation in the Czech Republic changed its corporate identity to Telefónica Czech Republic, a. s. (from Telefónica O2 Czech Republic, a. s.). Analogously, Telefónica O2 Slovakia, s.r.o., changed its name to Telefónica Slovakia, s.r.o.
Dana Dvořáková joined as Director of Corporate Communications.
Telefónica CR formed a special team to assist O2 customers via social networks. The official facebook page and twitter feed, as well as the O2YouTube channel, in section O2 Guru, offer professional assistance, tips and replies to questions.
June
Telefónica CR reduced its carbon footprint by 5 thousand tons of CO2 and recycled 269 tons of waste electrical and electronic equipment.
The Company launched its ‘Now I Know Why’ campaign which explained to customers how to make the best use of having internet in their mobile devices.
July
Ctirad Lolek was appointed new Director, Human Resources Division.
Telefónica CR, Komerční banka, Citibank Europe, Globus ČR and VISA Europe, in collaboration with Globus hypermarket in Čakovice, Prague, debuted a pilot project of near-field mobile payments with real users.
The Czech public voted, for the second time running, that Telefónica CR had the best mobile data service and the best mobile data coverage in the country in an independent survey by Ipsos Tambor.
August
Employees of Telefónica CR raised CZK 280,000 to help the people in Somalia who, due to long-lasting drought, water and food shortages, had to take refuge from their homes. The Company matched this amount 100%, and the donation was made to the humanitarian assistance organisation People in Need.
Customers with the prepaid O2 cards could start topping up their credit at the post office. Telefónica CR now operates a network of 30,000 top-up points, the largest in the Czech Republic.
Telefónica CR expanded the features of its My O2 portal and opened an online self-service shop for its residential customers.
Home broadband internet customers can now use the function of fully automated home WiFi network configuration. The whole family can go online at the same time, without the inconvenience of cables.
Telefónica CR and Telefónica Germany signed a joint project for fixed and mobile network management, to go until 2015.
September
Telefónica CR celebrated its the 5th anniversary of the O2 brand in the Czech market.
The first 100 young teams from 276 entries were selected to receive a grant in the first round of Think Big; the call for projects was opened in May by the O2 Foundation in collaboration with the Civil Society Development Foundation. The projects received a total of CZK 5.3 million among them.
At a ceremony in the residence of the US Ambassador, Telefónica CR was presented with the prestigious Via Bona Award for its patronage, financial, material and professional help to the Safety Line. Telefónica CR has been Safety Line’s general partner already for 17 years.
October
The new website www.o2.cz came first in its category (Telecommunications) in WebTop100 and came second in the open category.
In collaboration with the Czech Union of the Deaf, Telefónica CR presented the outreach programme that drew attention to issues of communication of children and young people with full or partial loss of hearing.
Almost 600 employees of Telefónica CR became volunteers for the day on the occasion of the International Volunteer Day, helping in 18 organisations of public benefits across the country. The Telefónica Group celebrates the International Volunteer Day every year in all countries where it has a presence.
November
The advertising campaign ‘Smart Network from O2’ won the 2011 Effie Award for the most effective advertising campaign in the category Other Services.
Luis Aldo Martin succeeded Tony Hanway as Director, Consumer Division, Telefónica CR. Tony Hanway became CEO Telefónica Ireland.
Ramiro Lafarga Brollo was appointed new CEO of Telefónica Slovakia.
December
Telefónica CR officially started offering DNSSEC, a secure domain name system, in its network, thus significantly improving the protection and security of its customers online.
Telefónica CR vastly improved its 3G network coverage, reaching 71% of the population with its signal.
As part of its Christmas campaign, Telefónica CR offered its prepaid customers calls for CZK 3.50 and SMS for CZK 1.50. Contract customers received double the amount of free units (calls, SMS) to all networks.
Telefónica CR, VISA Europe, Komerční banka, Citibank Europe and Globus ČR evaluated the six-month pilot operation of near-field mobile payments, with the unequivocal conclusion that the Czech market – customers and retailers alike – are ready for the technology.
The committee of A Greener Festival Awards gave again its global recognition to the Czech Open Air Festival.