Final Word from Thursday, October 17, 2002
MF Dnes angered more than one cellphone manager by writing incorrectly yesterday that the Czech mobile-phone market is on the decline. Profits are dropping sharply, MFD wrote, but it then contradicted itself by saying that Eurotel's 9M profits rose by 3%, to Kč 5.1bn. Eurotel, by any measure, is still doing extremely well, and its main competitors, T-Mobile RadioMobil Český Mobil and Oskar (who haven't released 9M results yet), have also continued to grow. A slowdown in the rate of growth, though, is only natural as the market reaches maturity. Eurotel might counteract this through international expansion. T-Mobile achieved a similar effect with its recent name change, allowing it to offer business customers cross-market services and a global brand. After the dust settles on Český Telecom's privatization, Eurotel can be expected to pounce too.