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CETIN’s mission is to build, operate and constantly innovate the reliable, secure and fast telecommunications infrastructure.

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www.cetin.cz

CETIN Czech Republic

<h2>General info</h2>The company, a wholesale provider of telecommunications services, owns and operates the largest electronic communications network in the Czech Republic. It offers its services, always under the same conditions, to all telecommunications operators and internet service providers who supply services to end customers via the CETIN infrastructure. The company mainly offers mobile network infrastructure services, mass fixed network services (network access services, xDSL and optical connectivity, IP TV, and voice services), data services for corporate networks, and data centre leasing.

CETIN&rsquo;s national fixed network comprises approximately 20 million pairs of copper cables and almost 46,000 km of fibre-optic cables, though this length is increasing all the time thanks to extensive investment. Mobile technology is disseminated by around 6,400 base stations. CETIN contributes to a network sharing project and provides its mobile infrastructure to O2 and T-Mobile. CETIN also offers international services to domestic and foreign providers. On the international stage, the company maintains a presence via physical network nodes (POPs) in London, Vienna, Bratislava, Frankfurt and Hong Kong, and offers comprehensive international voice and data services to over 200 customers worldwide. CETIN, as the administrator and operator of the largest critical information infrastructure for telecommunications in the Czech Republic, oversees the protection of its customers and the availability of services.

<h2>Data security</h2>In the protection of its network and users, it adopts security measures that are in line with the recommendations of the National Cyber and Information Security Agency (N&Uacute;KIB) and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA). It is involved in FENIX, the project that draws together companies providing connections to important services with a view to ensuring that these remain in operation even in the most critical situations. The company continuously engages in risk analysis and cybersecurity auditing in line with best practice, conducts security tests, invests in security technologies and specialists, and shares knowledge and best practices with PPF Telecom Group.

Czech Republic

CETIN&rsquo;s mission is to build, operate and constantly innovate the reliable, secure and fast telecommunications infrastructure essential for the further digital transformation and competitiveness of the Czech economy. The CETIN telecommunications network&rsquo;s set of mobile and fixed technologies is available to 99.6% of Czech households.

CETIN continues to upgrade its network throughout the country As the manager of the country&rsquo;s largest communication infrastructure, CETIN annually invests billions of crowns in its development. CETIN is working hard to build a system of fibre-optic connections and complete the blanket modernisation and acceleration of the original copper network. In both cases, the average available speed in the CETIN access network has increased further, rising by 25% on 2019 to the current 105 Mbps.

Infobox

Figures for CETIN CZ (group, consolidated) *

Juraj Šedivý

“Our state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure solutions provide the backbone for the digitalisation of the world around us.”

Cetin Group

PPF Group is an international investment group founded in the Czech 
Republic in 1991. It has grown to manage operations in 25 countries around the world.

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Renáta and Petr Kellner set up their family foundation in XXXX. Alongside the core educational projects it initiates and funds, the Foundation contributes to projects being implemented by individuals and institutions in education, the arts, and the promotion of health.   

Nadace The Kellner Family Foundation

PPF Group

“Either You Make People Cry or Laugh, or You Don’t Succeed in the TV Business,” Says CME Head Didier Stoessel 

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CME MEDIA ENTERPRISES B.V.

CME MEDIA SERVICES LIMITED Czech Republic

CME&rsquo;s operations include 43 television channels broadcasting to approximately 49 million people in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.&nbsp;
CME pursues a strategy addressing to the global shift of consumer viewing habits from linear television to a subscription video on demand (SVOD) viewing model. It practices a windowing strategy aimed at maximizing monetization of its content across multiple distribution channels. CME leverages its traditional B2B business model where its revenues are largely driven by advertising and carriage fees, while growing direct distribution services to B2C SVOD customers. To execute its strategy, CME has embarked on complete digital transformation following its acquisition by PPF Group and aims to further its position as among the leading content producers across its markets in Central and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia). This large-scale investment in production is yielding a more diverse and innovative range of SVOD programming.
Extensive investment in local production is one of the principles underpinning CME&rsquo;s continued growth. Locally produced content accounted for approximately two thirds of the total cost of content broadcast in 2021. In terms of acquired content, in 2021, CME acquired rights to broadcast high-profile European football matches in the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, the Euro 2024 and 2028 tournaments, the Bundesliga, La Liga, and Serie A, also CME launched two new sports channels. Live sports are set to be another catalyst for growth in the years ahead.

News programmes are an important element of programming, as they divert significant share and ratings to CME. CME&rsquo;s award-winning news teams adhere to the highest standards of journalistic ethics. They are guided by CME&rsquo;s editorial guidelines, which promote impartiality, decency, and independence.
SVOD has grown at an unprecedented rate in Europe, driven by consumers who have rapidly embraced technological advances. Investments in digitalisation and the Voyo platform have increased CME&rsquo;s subscriber base significantly in its markets. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, subcriptions have quadrupled. This supports Voyo&rsquo;s ambition to become the leading local SVOD provider and generate growth in the digital space. It&nbsp;is projected that the majority of CEE households will have two to three SVOD subscriptions within five years.
CME is the first media company from the CEE region to become a member of albert, the international industry authority promoting environmental sustainability in the television and film industry.

CME was founded in 1994 with the launch of TV Nova, a&nbsp;private television station in the Czech Republic. PPF completed its acquisition of the CME media group on October 13, 2020.

Information about CME Media Enterprises B.V. can be found <a href="https://www.cetv-net.com/about-cme" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Bulgaria

Romania

Slovenia

Slovakia

Croatia

Central European Media Enterprises (CME) is a media and entertainment company operating leading television stations in six Central and Eastern European countries.
CME invests heavily in its own production, content, and distribution platforms.

"We want to be a trend-setter driving the transformation of digital media and distribution and be among the first to offer new solutions."

Central European Media Enterprises (CME) 

Interview for Info.cz

Czech Technical University: O2 triumphs in speed tests on multiple fronts

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O2 Czech Republic a.s.

Operating in a highly competitive, highly saturated telecommunications market, O2 CZ excels by combining the most affordable fixed internet, a superior mobile network, and attractive television content. While mobile telecommunications services are its main revenue stream, O2 covers with its fixed internet 99% of the Czech Republic&rsquo;s inhabited territory, which makes it the largest internet provider for both businesses and households. O2 is one of the biggest players in hosting, cloud services, managed services, and ICT.
O2 CZ also focuses on developing and offering more unconventional telecommunications services, such as cybersecurity services, along with financial services such as device insurance or mobile travel insurance. Virtual operators also offer their services in the O2 CZ mobile network. In response to changing trends and market demands, O2 has launched new tariffs with unlimited data in the 5G network. O2 Spolu (&ldquo;O2 Together&rdquo;) is a unique offering on the market that comprises family service packages custom built by customers themselves.
O2 concentrates its attention on technological advancements and innovation. The fifth-generation network expanded to nearly 60 towns and cities across the&nbsp;Czech Republic in&nbsp;2021. A new generation of the powerful O2 Smart Box, combining the functions of a modem, Wi-Fi router, and smart home hub, was launched. Other areas in which O2&nbsp;is strongly committed include the development of artificial intelligence and big data, an area in which O2 subsidiary Dataclair.ai team specialises. O2 is also developing the financial services sector, smart city solutions and connectivity, and the autonomous mobility of the&nbsp;future.

<h2>O2 Slovakia</h2>
O2 Slovakia, until 31 December&nbsp;2021 a wholly owned subsidiary of O2&nbsp;Czech Republic, entered the Slovak market in&nbsp;February 2007 as the country&rsquo;s third operator. By 2021, it was serving 2.3&nbsp;million customers in Slovakia. In early September 2021, the company rolled out 5G services in new locations and unveiled plans for the further building of fifth-generation infrastructure with Ericsson technology in Slovakia. Equipment of the same brand is now replacing components of the radio access network (RAN) as part of a large-scale technology upgrade in&nbsp;the&nbsp;O2 Slovakia network.
Corporate customers are catered to by O2 Business Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of O2 Slovakia, which offers a portfolio of fixed and mobile telecommunications services and ICT solutions.

<h2>Dataclair.ai</h2>
In 2020, O2 CZ &ndash; as a&nbsp;major technology company &ndash; continued its research and development into artificial intelligence, which is expected to come into its own not only in telecommunications, but also in banking, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals. Activities at the Dataclair.ai internal artificial intelligence center focus on advanced big data processing, machine learning, and working with neural networks.
<a href="/en/insights/ppf-and-artificial-intelligence/dataclair-ai">Learn more in the section PPF and Artificial Intelligence</a>

<h2>O2 TV</h2>
O2 TV is a core product yielding the highest level of customer satisfaction. However, the company continues to work diligently on consolidating its exclusive sports content. In addition to the complete FORTUNA: LIGA football league season and the top-flight ice hockey Extraliga, it has added a&nbsp;new station, Premier Sport, to transmit hundreds of live broadcasts from the English Premier League, the NFL, and the world&rsquo;s most prestigious MMA organization, the UFC. For tennis fans, O2 holds television rights to the complete WTA tennis circuit until the end of 2022.
With the O2 TV service, the company consolidated its position as the&nbsp;most popular IPTV provider in the Czech Republic. At the end of 2021, there were 603,000&nbsp;active subscriptions, including customers using O2 TV Sport Pack online and O2 TV HBO and Sport Pack. The range offered by O2 TV was expanded to include ten new TV&nbsp;stations during the past year.

O2 Czech Republic is the largest telecommunications operator in the Czech Republic. It provides voice, internet and data services to a full range of customers: households, SMEs, large corporations, and government. With its O2 TV service, it is the&nbsp;largest operator of&nbsp;internet television broadcasting in the country.
In the Czech Republic, O2 is one of the most active supporters of digital literacy among children and young people, promoting their online safety and the use of technology in education.

Corporate social responsibility is in O2 Czech Republic&rsquo;s DNA. The O2 Foundation is the oldest corporate foundation in the Czech Republic. Since its inception, it has channeled tens of millions of crowns to support thousands of young people as they pave the way for a&nbsp;better civil society and seek a better education.
In recent years, the foundation&rsquo;s support has centered on Czech primary education, which, thanks to the O2Chytr&aacute;&Scaron;kola.cz project, has benefited from increased funding to upgrade its infrastructure. The project targets the blanket introduction of digital literacy, online safety, and media literacy as topics covered in mainstream curricula.
To help combat the effects of the pandemic, O2 has offered a&nbsp;helping hand to both the public and the government. Its most significant actions have been the free set-up and operation of the 1212 national crisis line; the provision of mobile internet access to all tariff customers in the spring in order to ease their access to remote learning; the announcement of a&nbsp;CZK 5&nbsp;million grant for schools and children&rsquo;s homes for the digitalization of education; the offer of free mobile computer connections to schools and non-profit organizations; and assistance to the government in promoting the eRou&scaron;ka application.

Social Responsibility

Key Financial Statements

"With the help of the latest technologies, we are here to make the lives of all of our customers easier."

O2 Czech Republic

The Czech Technical University repeatedly measured the 5G signal coverage of all operators in spring this year. &ldquo;The fastest download speeds were measured using nPerf, with O2 hitting 704 Mbps. Speedtest returned a very similar result, measuring O2 at 636 Mbps. This makes the top rates measured on O2&rsquo;s network roughly double those of other operators. O2&rsquo;s high speeds are evidently achieved mainly by using the 3.7 GHz frequency, which allows for an ample channel width of 40 MHz,&rdquo; says Vladim&iacute;r D&aacute;ňa from the Czech Technical University&rsquo;s Cyber Resilience Centre, adding that a similar result can be seen from averaged measurements, with O2 recording an average download speed of 217 Mbps, as opposed to the competition&rsquo;s 117 Mbps and 87 Mbps.

Download speeds in a 5G network test by the CTU

The speed and technological superiority of O2&rsquo;s 5G network is supported by measurements on the NetMetr server. Here again, O2 has come top over the last six months (as of 15 July 2022) with readings that are many times better than the competition. The median download speed on O2&rsquo;s network, for example, is 185 Mbps, while the competition&rsquo;s is barely 75 Mbps. &ldquo;O2&rsquo;s lead in ping rates is just as strong. A low ping is vital for online gamers and anyone who communicates online via video calls &ndash; for example, if they are working from home. The NetMetr measurements reveal that O2 has a ping of just 14.5 ms, while its competitors come in at around 24 ms,&rdquo; says Jan Hru&scaron;ka, O2&rsquo;s chief technology officer.

Median 5G network speeds measured by NetMetr

&ldquo;Both measurements clearly show that our path of completely replacing radio technologies, which CETIN has been doing for us since last spring, delivers the fastest 5G to customers. Of course, it&rsquo;s a logistically more ambitious and costly route, but it lets O2 offer customers faster and more reliable internet, especially at greater capacity on individual transmitters and better coverage in certain areas,&rdquo; says Jan Hru&scaron;ka, O2&rsquo;s CTO, who added that addressing capacity across the entire network is a major undertaking because the volume of traffic in the network doubles every 18 months or so.
PPF Group&rsquo;s investment into network infrastructure from the European manufacturer Ericsson is paying off, enabling O2 to build a 5G network with enormous capacity that is ready for whatever the digital future may hold. This is also borne out by an Ipsos survey. Asked which operator they believe has the &ldquo;fastest 5G network&rdquo;, more than 45% of respondents answered unequivocally O2.

Survey of how users perceive 5G network speed:

The O2 5G network currently provides coverage for more than 2.6 million people in the Czech Republic. Since last May, almost 1,700 transmitters have been upgraded, with four or five technicians spending at least four days working on each of them. Around 40 new stations are being added every week. Working in partnership with CETIN, the operator plans to complete and thus improve coverage of most of the country by the end of 2024.
CTU test victory incorporated into new campaign
O2 will be running this message in a local campaign that is set to be rolled out in stages in outdoor, print and online media. &ldquo;From August to the end of October, it will feature heavily in places where the network has already been upgraded and where our customers can enjoy true 5G connectivity. Besides highlighting that O2 delivers the fastest speeds, the campaign will also illustrate how important PPF&rsquo;s investments are for the Czech Republic&rsquo;s digital future,&rdquo; says O2 marketing communications director David Dane&scaron;. This marketing communication will build on previous brand campaigns connecting PPF Group and other Group companies. Recent examples include campaigns involving CETIN and &Scaron;koda Transportation.

Support for the integration of refugees from Ukraine and schooling for their children

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In cooperation with non-profit organisations specialising in immigration issues and coordinated by the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, these projects are in development and target areas beyond the reach of the public sector where private funding has the most impact. During the initial support phase, both foundations will concentrate on printing re-editions of Czech language textbooks for all school year-levels and publishing Czech-Ukrainian dictionaries and other materials to assist Ukrainian children in their integration. These books and materials will then be distributed to schools free of charge. The foundations are organising support groups to provide language courses, raise community support and familiarise refugees with local conditions. The foundations are also broadly engaged in negotiations to set up projects to integrate Ukrainian children into the Czech society through free-time and summer-holiday activities.
Support is also specifically directed towards Prague 6 district, where PPF&rsquo;s headquarters is located. Both funding and materials have been given to the Slunečnice (Sunflower) Community Centre in Prague&nbsp;6 and certain Prague primary schools. Another Prague 6 community centre has received support for a Czech language teaching programme. Support under The Kellner Family Foundation&rsquo;s Helping Schools Succeed programme has also been channelled into schools working with Ukrainian pupils.
Material donations alongside financial support and fundraisers by PPF Group employees are an additional source of aid. The Group&rsquo;s telecommunications companies have donated prepaid SIM cards to refugee relief organisations and provided free roaming services and international calls. The electronics and household appliance retailer, FAST has worked with People in Need to donate consumer electronics. The Group continues to offer accommodation, jobs, and other services, including a website offering financial services in Ukrainian. Employee fundraisers are an ongoing source of additional material aid, gifts for children, and offers of accommodation, transport and assistance to the refugees and families from Ukraine.

Škoda Transportation in City For The Future at Expo 2022 Dubai

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Škoda Group

The flagship of the &Scaron;koda Group is &Scaron;koda Transportation. An important arm of the group is TEMSA, which it controls jointly with Sabanci Holding. The group&rsquo;s key business regions are the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, the Baltics, Poland, and Slovakia.
&Scaron;koda Group develops a full range of public transport solutions for trains, trams, the metro, trolleybuses, and various types of buses, accompanied by&nbsp;comprehensive servicing and maintenance. The group is moving increasingly towards sustainable transport of the future and solutions for the data-driven, connected mobility infrastructure of future smart cities using 5G connectivity. The group has a digital division dedicated to the development and innovation of digital, control, and diagnostic systems for vehicles. &Scaron;koda Group&rsquo;s vehicles are environmentally friendly, with almost all of them running purely on electricity and producing no emissions. In 2021, &Scaron;koda also launched the development of a new-generation hydrogen drive buses.

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, &Scaron;koda Group still significantly increased its profitability, sales, and new orders in 2021. Despite global supply chain problems and labour shortages, &Scaron;koda scaled up production and launched new projects for foreign markets, reflecting its status as a leading exporter that dispatches some 60% of its orders abroad. In 2021, the group recorded sales of EUR 614 million, EBITDA of EUR 45 million, and a net profit of EUR 33 million. The number of group employees increased by 26% year on year to some 6,500 (8,000 including TEMSA). There was also a solid rise in the volume of work contracted, which increased to around EUR 3.6 billion.* This means that the group&rsquo;s production capacity will be full until approximately 2025. In 2021, &Scaron;koda invested EUR 71 million in, among other things, an increase in production capacity in Plzeň, Ostrava, and &Scaron;umperk.
*Unaudited consolidated figures based on international accounting standards for the 2021 financial year. Revenues do not include TEMSA&rsquo;s results as this company is consolidated using the IFRS equity method. The number of employees at TEMSA (a 50% joint venture) is included in the total.

In 2021, Ostrava-based Ekova Electric (now &Scaron;koda Ekova) was incorporated into &Scaron;koda Group and added the production of new trams to its existing servicing and upgrading operations. Last year, &Scaron;koda Group delivered RegioPanter electric trains and InterJet carriages to its largest railways customer, Česk&eacute; dr&aacute;hy, and introduced new-generation push-pull trains for the Moravian-Silesian Region. During the year, the group made trainsets for the Warsaw metro and trams for German cities, and progressed to further stages in the delivery of solutions to the cities of Plzeň and Ostrava. Trams for Riga and NIM Express trains for Germany were also delivered. New contracts include the delivery of electric trains to&nbsp;Slovakia and trolleybuses for a number of European cities. The delivery of the first electric buses for Prague was an electromobility milestone.

Russia

Hungary

Finland

Poland

Germany

An international leader in public transport solutions. &Scaron;koda is consolidating its market position by innovating, digitalising, and broadening its extensive portfolio of vehicles and services. &Scaron;koda Group&rsquo;s growth has facilitated significant investment in production capacity and jobs.

At all sites where it operates, &Scaron;koda Group supports education and CSR activities, promotes topics related to transportation and mechanical engineering, and cooperates with technical universities.
&Scaron;koda Group is a long-term partner to sports clubs in the regions where it operates, such as Pilsen&rsquo;s HC &Scaron;koda Plzeň Extraliga club, the First Hockey League club Draci Pars &Scaron;umperk, Ostrava's football team Ban&iacute;k, and the athletics club &Scaron;koda Plzeň. In Pilsen, it is also the sponsor of the &Scaron;koda Sport Park and the &Scaron;kodaland sports complexes. &Scaron;koda Plzeň also supports the Městsk&aacute; charita Plzeň (a municipal charitable organization), Ovahelp in Ostrava, and many more individuals and organizations.

Supporting Local Communities

„Innovation, engineering excellence and focus on sustainability and data-driven transportation solutions are making Škoda a strong element of future mobility.“

&Scaron;koda Transportation Group&rsquo;s vision for future cities is a solution designed to introduce safer and more sustainable public transport while providing improved passenger services and more pleasant urban environments. Compatible with the European C-Roads Platform, the system introduces shared parameters for smart transport solutions. &Scaron;koda and its partners have been testing a pilot project with these features in real-world traffic in Plzeň since autumn 2021 and have geared the system towards solutions which meet the future needs and developments of cities across Europe and the world.

Plzeň-based Škoda at the World Expo in Dubai

O2 shares will be de-listed at the end of February, 2022, and consideration will be paid by the end of April, 2022.

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PPF Telco B.V.

For more information, click here.

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Sotio

SOTIO Biotech a.s.

PPF Biotech B.V.

SOTIO has been part of PPF Group since 2012 and manages its biotechnology activities. It is building a diversified portfolio of immuno-oncology products based on its own research and development, partnerships, licensing agreements, investments, mergers, and acquisitions. It has a presence in both Europe and the US, with its principal centres located in Prague in the Czech Republic, Basel in Switzerland, and Cambridge in Massachusetts, where it has recently built a new centre of excellence for T-cell therapy research and development. SOTIO plans to open new state-of-the-art GMP laboratories at the centre in 2022.
SOTIO&rsquo;s research and development programmes embrace IL-15 superagonist-based products, including immunocytokines, personalised cell immunotherapy based on its CAR T platform, and next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) anticancer products.

SOTIO validates the safety and efficacy of its products in a full range of clinical trials &mdash; the Group has conducted thirteen trials in Europe and the US since 2012. In 2022/23, the newly developed products BOXR1030 (CAR T), SOT102 (ADC), and SOT201 (immunocytokine) will advance to the clinical trial phase. In late 2021, SOTIO entered into a collaboration agreement with the global pharmaceutical company MSD (Merck) with the purpose of jointly conducting an extensive Phase II clinical study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of IL-15 superagonist SOT101 in combination with MSD&rsquo;s KEYTRUDA&reg; (pembrolizumab).
In November 2021, SOTIO licensed the technology of South Korea&rsquo;s LegoChem Biosciences for the development of five new antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) programmes. SOTIO will be responsible for the research, preclinical and clinical development, and commercialisation of the products.
In 2021, SOTIO&rsquo;s division engaged in the research and development of immunotherapy treatments for cancer based on antibody-drug conjugates was spun out from SOTIO a.s., a biotechnology organisation, into a newly formed entity, SOTIO Biotech a.s. The original company, renamed SCTbio a.s., continues to manufacture modern cell therapy products and provide logistics support for clinical trials.

Other PPF Biotech Holdings

Switzerland

China

France

The group of biotech companies within PPF&rsquo;s Biotech arm that researches and develops innovative cancer treatments and translates compelling scientific knowledge in the field of immunotherapy into clinical trials. Teams of leading experts from all over the world work for SOTIO as part of its extensive international activities. SOTIO Group runs its own laboratory facilities in Prague and in the US.

At the end of 2020, PPF sold its stake in NBE-Therapeutics, a&nbsp;company developing innovative ADC products for the treatment of solid tumors, to leading global pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim.
This deal, the largest of its kind in Europe in 10 years, showed the value of the ADCs that SOTIO Biotech maintains in its portfolio and that it continues to develop. These products could reach their first patients in the beginning of 2022 in the first phase of clinical trials.

Sale of PPF's Stake in NBE-Therapeutics

"SOTIO exemplifies the world-class standard of Czech science in its mission and results. Our efforts are focused on finding a cure for cancer."

Sotio Biotech

Radek Špíšek

CEO SOTIO for Forbes CZ

FOR LIFE

The Czech equivalent of Squid Game Show Wanted

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Although Didier Stoessel focused on discussing TV NOVA and the situation in the Czech market, he also highlighted CME&rsquo;s ambitious business goals and challenges across all markets (Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic) where the media group operates. Didier Stoessel sees that the development of top-quality original content and the CME&rsquo;s Voyo streaming platform is critical to solidifying and expanding the company&rsquo;s market share amid quickly changing video consumption habits.
<ul>
 <li>Competition on the Czech market is partly dictated by TV NOVA (CME), the largest and most popular commercial/private TV channel, and Czech public TV (ČT). NOVA ranks in top position for number of viewers, while ČT draws a following for quality TV broadcasting of series, documentaries, news and current affairs.</li>
 <li>TV NOVA&rsquo;s business goals are aggressive, specifically regarding its Subscribe Video-on-Demand (SVOD) service Voyo. Voyo is the key to CME&rsquo;s success on the Czech and other markets, says Didier. &ldquo;In what business can one aim for acquiring 300,000 to 400,000 new customers in one year,&rdquo; he says.</li>
 <li>While CME may not be a European or global player, Didier believes CME is very strong regionally, where the media still has major potential and a great affinity for local content. In France, people demand French shows, and in Germany, people want to see mainly German content. Czechs, Slovaks and Romanians are not dissimilar, preferring content which features local actors, programs in their own languages and entertainment with stories relevant to their own everyday lives and history.</li>
 <li>Didier is driven by the current climate of digital transformation, and under PPF&rsquo;s investments and leadership, is seeking ways of expanding CME through streaming and smart distribution, not necessarily to compete at the level of Netflix, but in leveraging opportunity.</li>
 <li>Transforming the entire sector is not about an expensive change in production site but a complex shift in creating new products and competing with global players in the top league, not minor league clubs. ČT is an excellent broadcaster, but NOVA is three times bigger and engaged in major entertainment projects, niche programming, film production and co-production, all at one location.</li>
 <li>High-quality content distribution has a wealth of new opportunities on its doorstep. This is not change but expansion, and CME wants to attract talent through opportunities to create almost any type of content.</li>
 <li>Traditionally, programming at Nova was very selective, and linear broadcasting needed only a maximum of three to four serials per year. Talented individuals saw no reason to come here, and content creators forgot to knock on NOVA&rsquo;s door to share their great ideas. One of the first things a new CEO did was to open those doors and listen to people. Those people are now coming on their own and knocking. CME has changed its internal processes and meets every week to discuss new projects and gets feedback about a month later.</li>
 <li>This business is all about talent, the best screenwriters, producers and actors who know how to produce top-rated shows. NOVA is somewhat of a sleeping giant, under-invested and largely untapped. Since the company has been for sale for a while, it has concentrated on its daily routine, but development is a long-term business, which is now changing with PPF.</li>
 <li>A new TV series takes about two years to produce after a new idea is first discussed. In 2022 NOVA wants to broadcast about 12 original series on Voyo, 23 next year and 33 in 2024.</li>
 <li>The overall trend is that in the future, 80% of households with an internet connection will stream two to three SVOD services on average, typically Netflix, a local content provider and a sports service.</li>
 <li>Asked about his vision for CME at the time he was appointed a year ago, Didier mentioned a million Voyo subscribers in Czechia and Slovakia within five years. CME has progressed along that road, moving ahead a third of the way in less than a year. Linear NOVA TV is also attracting a growing number of viewers, so it isn&rsquo;t a process of cannibalization. These two forms of content consumption complement and build on each other.</li>
 <li>Linear TV is also ripe for revival. TV advertising still works very well, and online and TV together offer a potentially winning combination.</li>
</ul>

Summary of the Interview for Forbes CZ

The Czech Republic is one of the best countries in fighting cancer:  Dr. Cook (The Economist Impact)

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Today we will talk about healthcare! But for once, our debate won't be on covid (thank God!). We will talk about public health, oncology, and prevention. And, about an Economist Impact study on Cancer preparedness that has just released a&nbsp;large paper about the Czech Republic and Czech system of Oncology care. Therefore, I&nbsp;am super happy; I&nbsp;can talk today with Dr. Robert Cook, the Clinical Director of Economist Impact, the research arm of The Economist Group. Dr. Cook lead a&nbsp;team of analysts who have already looked at almost 30 national oncology systems, the Czech Republic becoming the last piece in the puzzle. 
Even though most of the focus, when we talk about medicine, shifts toward covid and managing the pandemics, the Czech Republic can be really proud of the quality of&nbsp;its oncological care. According to Dr. Robert Cook, who took part on the Economist Impact study on oncology in twenty nine countries, in which the Czech Republic was ranked 8th, it is remarkable what the Czech oncologists can do having in mind how little money is being invested into oncology&nbsp;in the country.
So, dear Dr. Cook, it's&nbsp;great having you!
Pleasure is mine Jan!
My first question will be about public health: Even though you used to be a&nbsp;general practitioner, you have spent the last twenty years in public health. And public health unfortunately has been a&nbsp;sort of pariah of healthcare, especially in the Western world. For decades it stayed in the closet; not many people had been interested in it and it was underfunded and seen as unimportant. Now covid has changed everything, the media, politicians, and even people drinking beer at the pub are talking about public health. How do you feel about it? It's&nbsp;a&nbsp;good observation, what you just said; the whole public health field has indeed been seen to wake up. Not only policymakers, but also ordinary people are now truly interested in it. I&nbsp;listen to the BBC regularly, and I&nbsp;am amazed how many epidemiologists are invited guests and how often they appear. Honestly, many are now household names. Prior to this I&nbsp;didn't even know how many epidemiologists there were in the UK.
It is also interesting how much people have started to think about numbers and data when talking about healthcare. Before covid, healthcare was a&nbsp;very individual thing, but now people have begun to understand the population, societal and economic consequences of good health and healthcare.
There is an old saying that generals always prepare to fight their last war rather than the next. From this perspective, maybe the COVID is a&nbsp;sort of wake-up call because this pandemic might be the first among many upcoming societal, complex health issues we will need to deal with. There is aging, instability of health financing, microbial resistance...
This is totally true...
And all those challenges will need our focus, effort, and a&nbsp;lot of money. There is no free lunch in healthcare. You know, public health has always faced a&nbsp;problem. That is, it frequently needs to take a&nbsp;long-term view on things. This is in contrast to modern societies with very fast news cycles or low attention spans. Politicians in democracies often think about the electoral cycle and their party&rsquo;s&nbsp;prospects for reelection, for example. Few people were interested in what will happen in ten years or longer. Sad but true. However, there are opportunities to change this, if we recognize the underlying causes of short-termism.
For example, healthcare has become so complex an endeavor that it is now difficult for one person to fully understand it. It is no longer only about access to health facilities or high-quality drugs. Good health, from a&nbsp;personal and societal perspective, is now about our behavior, about stress, food, clean water, and the complex environment around us, including the effects of climate change.
Because politicians come and go, health systems themselves need to consider how to reposition themselves to address new approaches to health and societal needs. Acknowledging that Covid took us totally by surprise, we need to ensure we focus on the future and prepare better for when something similar threatens us again.
Let's&nbsp;take one step down and focus on the intriguing point you mentioned: our behavior and its impact on our health. Thanks to big data and enough computing power, we see, also in a&nbsp;quantitative manner, that our behavior impacts our health by 40%. Then, there are genes, 30%, socio economic aspect &amp; access to health, 15%, the quality of the healthcare system, 10%, and finally environmental exposure, 5%. Therefore, and clearly, our behavior constitutes a&nbsp;critical element of our health. 
Thus, do you think the behavioral economy approach, for example in the form of nudges, might be a&nbsp;good strategy for how to positively influence our behavior?
Yes, that's&nbsp;an interesting question. I&nbsp;think it's&nbsp;possible to use them, but first, we need to break down the prevention pathway into separate parts. Not all of them are suitable for nudges and different forms of interventions might be required. For the hardest behaviors that require lifelong lifestyle change, like weight reduction, or smoking cessation, complex strategies are needed. Nudges have been shown to work here, but are probably best combined with public health campaigns, positive social media activism, structural reforms and also financial incentives in some form...
For more straightforward problems, like promoting vaccination against covid, here simple nudges might be helpful. For example, opt-out, rather than opt-in techniques.
Finally, we should not ignore possible inequalities in health outcomes, health access, and broader socioeconomic factors. For behaviors to change, most people need accurate information to make decisions and both the opportunity, and motivation to embrace a&nbsp;healthier way of life.
Some people argue against nudges, saying that they are just pure manipulation. To a&nbsp;certain extent this is true. My view is that we are often prone to being manipulated all the time and everywhere anyway. Social media, e-commerce, and even product placement in old-fashioned grocery stores are examples. Just think about a&nbsp;candy stall full of chocolates next to every cashier that is waiting for children. Fortunately, this is being changed, at least here in Britain. I&nbsp;find sometimes it's&nbsp;now quite hard for me to find my favorite bar of chocolate in a&nbsp;supermarket. Before, it was next to the cashier!
This, to me at least, seems a&nbsp;positive example of nudging that isn't necessarily manipulation. By reducing the opportunity to pick up a&nbsp;chocolate bar on the way out, I'm not prevented from planning to pick it up when walking around the whole shop, it just reduces my short-term thinking and changes a&nbsp;habit.
How to apply this to more complex and expensive parts of medicine: like diabetes or oncology? To persuade people to live better and also not avoid/miss their check-ups and preventive screenings?
I&nbsp;think there is a&nbsp;place for nudging as well. Again: for example, an opt-out mechanism for health checks and oncology screenings, when people will get their place scheduled automatically in places that suit them and well in advance. To create a&nbsp;seamless pathway and seamless access to care. Also, to apply digital technologies much more to communicate with people more frequently. &ndash; People use apps now for everything from payments and groceries; with obvious security and confidentiality safeguards why not use them more when communicating with your family physician.
Maybe let's&nbsp;chunk this oncology pathway into a&nbsp;few pieces. First, there is a&nbsp;problem with our behavior: pollution, junk food, stress, smoking, etc. Here I&nbsp;like public health marketing quite a&nbsp;lot. But in a&nbsp;modern way: KOLs, influencers, social media, gamification, and ideally with some financial nudges to support good behavior.&nbsp;Then, there is the second pot, which is real prevention: checkups, mammography, ultrasounds, colon cancer screenings, and so on. And here, we need a&nbsp;more seamless pathway, as you pointed out.&nbsp;And finally, there is the treatment, which shall be centralized and accessible as much as possible.
Yes, I&nbsp;think it is essential to break it down into a&nbsp;pathway because different pieces need different approaches, and the more upstream we go, it tends to get more complex and complicated. It's&nbsp;not about healthcare only, but also education, employers, environment, including the play of socioeconomic disparities.
Fixing some of these upstream changes is not fast nor easy. Just think about smoking cessation. How quickly, if you do stop smoking do you accrue the benefits of a&nbsp;healthier lifestyle? And the same goes for dietary change. How quickly will a&nbsp;healthy and nutritious diet bring you to a&nbsp;healthy weight and then better health status? The changes can be made very fast, but maintaining them needs more focus. How can they become a&nbsp;habit? So here we come to the role of family and upbringing because it's&nbsp;much easier and better to develop healthy habits as a&nbsp;child.

Let's talk now more about oncology. As a researcher for Economist Impact, you were very much involved in an extensive international survey around cancer care preparedness. You analyzed the quality of prevention, treatment, and care for oncology patients in almost 30 health systems around the globe. And just recently you finished a study on the Czech Republic. Could you tell us a little bit more about this global initiative?
This is a&nbsp;significant initiative that's&nbsp;been running for several years now. We have developed an extensive scoring system to evaluate national oncology systems and rank countries based on their preparedness to tackle cancer. We looked at a&nbsp;range of policies in prevention, funding approaches, infrastructure, access to innovation, and the connectivity of oncology care to broader health systems. The focus was not only about the indicators of policies in place but also about their actual implementation. That's&nbsp;why we also look for evidence that countries are doing what their own guidelines and policies advise them. Finally, we try to show countries what and how they could improve their oncology care.
So how do you see our oncology system in the Czech Republic?
The Czech Republic is very good. I&nbsp;mean very, very good: in our international ranking, you are number 8th out of 29 countries.
That is great!
The country scores very high in oncology policy, planning and strategy of care. For the care that people get, this is also very high quality. Also, we scored data collection and screening programs highly. Finally, thinking about your complex oncology centers and the specialization of care. &ndash; Here, the Czech Republic has stood out also. What shall we improve?
One aspect might be the connection between policies, such as screening programs or centralization of care, and their actual implementation into practice. You know, guidelines are one thing, but you need to live by them. Another point made by this research is that the political will to change what needs to be changed could be more decisive. But I&nbsp;understand that life is about priorities and oncology is only one part of medicine, and healthcare is only one part of a&nbsp;government's&nbsp;responsibilities.
There are not only great, centralized oncology centers full of professors and expensive equipment...there is also the grassroots level of medicine we shall not forget about: regional hospitals and primary care. And especially primary care physicians shall constitute a&nbsp;strong, confident first block of healthcare: as gatekeepers, as advocates, like a&nbsp;gateway, both upstream and downstream.
I&nbsp;think primary care could have a&nbsp;more substantial role in many areas and not only in oncology. By primary care I&nbsp;don't mean only physicians, but also nurses, dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists and optometrists. All are essential making first contact with people as the base of a&nbsp;properly functioning health system. Unfortunately, maintaining good connections and collaboration between these groups and with hospitals can be challenging. And it is not only about information going from primary care to oncology centers but also from the centers to primary care. Primary care clinicians often know their patients well and can help guide through the system. Modern cancer care is a&nbsp;multiple specialty system now.
Yes, and it is not only about care itself, but also about the quality of life. Not to measure only life expectancy but the quality of life we give to patients when treating cancer. Now we are talking about pathways again, which is good. Before, it was about upstream, now we go downstream. You know, many, many people, who unfortunately develop cancer, begin to value life itself. Many of them will aim to live a&nbsp;much fuller life...perhaps trying to do all the things on their bucket lists, the things they always wished to do. To do this we need to acknowledge how important it is to survivors of cancer to live fully and with a&nbsp;good quality of life.
When we connect that to cancer care, we open the topic of palliative and community care.
Yes again we come back to primary care. On the one hand: high-end care needs to be centralized, but on the other hand, care that is connected to this desire for quality-of-life aspect needs to be as local as possible. And here, I&nbsp;think we often underestimate the value of continuity of care that can be provided in primary care.
Now we are nicely coming to the ethical aspect of healthcare and of oncology. When to care, how to care but also when to stop to care. And by stopping the care, I&nbsp;mean stopping curative intervention and thinking about palliative care that shall be as close to your home as possible. Because from a&nbsp;holistic perspective, there is the beginning of life, and there is also an end, as part of what we can call the mystery of life. Another way of saying this is that "It's&nbsp;not about when you die, but it's&nbsp;about how you die". Discussions about this can be very individual. And I&nbsp;think modern medicine offers more options now that was the case in the past. Some patients want to stay at a&nbsp;hospital, some at palliative care, some at a&nbsp;hospice, and some of them want to stay home with their families. Every option has to be a&nbsp;balance, between its pros and cons also. This applies to health access and delivery, too. Thus, it's&nbsp;a&nbsp;task for policymakers to allow the health system to offer a&nbsp;range of options for patients and their families to choose.
If you think about it, in our whole conversation, we are talking about patients as about clients. We talk a&nbsp;lot about the pathway, patient centricity, and customer experience. And sometimes health professionals have a&nbsp;bit of a&nbsp;problem embracing this patient centricity; some of them still think about patients as machines... as bodies that shall be treated. However, we see that a&nbsp;holistic approach is necessary to get quality output out of healthcare. We also talked about that a&nbsp;lot in connection to behavioral and societal aspects of health.
I&nbsp;do recognize this as a&nbsp;long-term trend and long-term transformation, which has been with us for many decades. True shared decision-making between health professionals on one side and patients and family on the other side is a&nbsp;positive approach, but it does take extra time. And yes, there are and there always will be tensions; but that is normal.
Maybe let's&nbsp;finish by coming back to the Czech Republic. Your research in cancer and oncology preparedness won't be possible without analyzing the broader context of the overall health care system. Any last advice on what we could do better?
Interesting question. I&nbsp;think first would be to use the experience of the pandemic to consider what went well and what didn't. Reflecting on such an extreme health system shock provides much to learn from. Here I&nbsp;would like to say that infectious diseases are not going away anytime soon and we shall get ready for further shocks. The rapid development and approval of innovations, vaccines and antiviral therapies for example, shouldn't be forgotten.
Then, there are non-communicable diseases: cardiac diseases, diabetes, cancer, and many others. that are a&nbsp;significant financial burden for health systems and the whole society. Here the long term goal should be to go upstream as much as possible into the preventive activities that work. Money spent on prevention often provides good return on investment over the long-term.
Then, there is the sustainability of healthcare itself: financial constraints are looming in most parts of the world and because of aging populations, new technologies and the undersupply of health professionals, system capacity will continue to be challenged. Progress in healthcare needs a&nbsp;long-term perspective. It takes time to train health professionals and time for many preventive interventions to bring about improvements, let&rsquo;s&nbsp;not forget that.
Finally, the stance of countries on environmental sustainability, climate change, and international health are important pillars of global economic and societal health and stability. Healthcare is becoming more driven by equity and in the future will be a&nbsp;lot about this. What happens in other countries affects us all.
Excellent finish! Thank you, Doctor Cook, for the wonderful conversation.
It has been a&nbsp;pleasure and see you in Prague.
Online article is available <a href="https://www.info.cz/zpravodajstvi/svet/robert-cook-interview-en">here</a>

<h3>PhDr. Jan Ruzicka, MBA</h3>
Chief External Affairs Officer at the Home Credit Group, the world&rsquo;s leading consumer finance provider. Based out of Hong Kong, Jan runs company networks in the US, Asia, and Europe. Before that, he used to live in Beijing, Cambridge, and Prague. He even spent ten years working for the Czech Government, advocating, and shaping the health reform as the Director-General at the Ministry of Health. Jan teaches Behavioral Economy and the Disruption of Finance and Healthcare at universities in Asia and Europe. He is especially interested in how innovation can create financial inclusion and health equality.
&nbsp;

Rob Cook

<h3>Dr. Robert Cook</h3>
Dr. Robert Cook is Clinical Director of Economist Impact, the insight and policy arm of The Economist group. Furthermore, he served as a deputy director and adviser to the prestigious National Institute for Health Research. Dr. Cook is a general practitioner by training and practice.

ICP EIU

Big Stories by Jan Růžička on info.cz

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When Cetin (Česk&aacute; telekomunikačn&iacute; infrastruktura) was founded - a spin-off from the operator O2 in 2015 - it acquired the extensive O2 mobile access network and at the same time slightly outdated network of the former Czech Telecom. Cetin has invested CZK 27 billion in network upgrade since its inception. But this is only the beginning. The company, which is a part of PPF Group, has launched a ten-year innovation plan worth CZK 55 billion.
What is the main objective of the investment? Significant acceleration of internet connectivity for businesses and millions of households. From the originally planned CZK 22 billion, we have increased the investment project by CZK 5 billion, with the largest part of the money going into fiber optics. In 2015 the average connection speed was around 22 megabits per second, today the most common speed available is 250 megabits per second and the average speed on our connection lines is over 120 megabits. In particular, the number of people who can connect at speeds over one gigabit per second is increasing. We're currently at around 105,000 fiber connections and our aim is to get fiber at these speeds as close to as many people as possible. We have also upgraded more than 2,500 exchanges. Over the course of four years of technology replacement, we migrated over 420,000 voice services nationwide while fully operational.
At the same time, we are continuing to modernize our mobile network, deploying 5G technology. The project, which we are implementing with the Swedish company Ericsson, involves the planned generational replacement of the existing 2G and 4G technologies and the switching off of 3G technology. This will significantly improve the user experience when using mobile services, reduce the energy burden and contribute to the efficient construction of a nationwide 5G network. This will, among other things, create the right conditions for the emergence of new business models across industries.
Do you still build fixed metallic lines, or do you focus exclusively on fiber optics? Virtually 100 per cent of all new installations are fiber optics. In total, we now operate 55,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables and 20 million kilometers of paired metallic cables. This is where we have carried out a comprehensive modernization and acceleration of the original metallic network over the last three years. This year we provided high-speed internet to our one millionth customer. As the pandemic has shown, a strong quality internet connection is now an essential part of everyday life.
Will the end customer recognize the amount of money invested in infrastructure? I am convinced that they will. We bring fiber optic internet directly to clients' homes. This gives them virtually unlimited bandwidth for the internet, TV, multimedia, gaming or smart home within a single connection line. We have fully launched the system of construction of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) connections, and where this is not possible we have deployed the bonding technology, which makes it possible to connect two telephone lines on the metallic network and thus double the connection speed. Since conventional modems cannot handle this, we developed our own terminal device called Terminator in cooperation with Zyxel. In combination with the construction of remote switches, so-called DSLAMs, of which there are currently 6222 in the network, we have accelerated 92 per cent of all metallic connections. Importantly, the wholesale model makes this infrastructure available to all internet service providers who are interested.
Will the aforementioned investments make services to end customers more expensive? Cetin does not determine prices for end customers. It is determined by the providers. As for our wholesale prices, we have not increased them.
Why does fixed internet only work at speeds of around 20 megabits per second in some locations, including central parts of cities? We have relatively few slower connections in our network. These are usually locations where there is a problem with construction, i.e., mostly in city centers or in areas with strong competition. Where customer needs are covered by competitors' services, it doesn't always make sense for us to invest there too.
Is it bureaucratically difficult to build fiber optics in city centers? Of course, administration and legislation delay the construction process; it takes a whole year to obtain a permit under the Building Act, negotiate rights of user, secure easements and obtain all the documentation. Whether you are building a house or need to get a cable into the ground, it is pretty much the same in terms of red tape, we have to go through all the standard permits that are given for the area in question. In Prague, for example, it is necessary to obtain permits from up to 80 entities before construction. It normally takes a year before we can come in and start digging. In 25 to 30 per cent of the projects, it won't even make it through the authorities, they will ban the construction. That is also why this year's 75,000 new connections will be implemented mainly in residential buildings.
A certain advantage is the existing infrastructure: in layman's terms, where we have free space in the already laid conduits, it is possible to &ldquo;blow in&rdquo; the fiber optics into the existing lines without the need for digging. At the same time, we are introducing a new technology, a special machine that means we won't have to make wide trenches because it cuts a groove for the cable to be laid below the surface. Apart from a tiny groove in the asphalt, no one notices anything. A two-hundred-meter stretch, which takes several weeks to be completed conventionally, can be done before noon. It is used in Germany or Austria, where the construction principles are stricter, and thanks to a change in Czech legislation, we can start using it here as well. It is a special machine that cuts into the asphalt, lays the cable and pours the asphalt surface in quick, successive steps. Provided, of course, that we don't intersect with other infrastructure.
How much did traffic on the Cetin network increase during the coronavirus pandemic? After the schools closed, the volume of traffic on the network increased, literally overnight, by 20 per cent. Mobile connections jumped out most significantly in the beginning, and in fact volumes have been growing ever since. On the other hand, in the fixed network, after a dramatic increase at the beginning of the pandemic, traffic started to decline slightly. We believe this is because at the beginning of the first wave, everyone actually stayed at home, but by the end of the spring of 2020, more people started going out. They often went somewhere where they didn't have a fixed connection, so the traffic on the mobile network grew &nbsp;massively. In the second wave of Covid, the traffic curve was much more jagged, both on mobile and on fix. In the third wave of Covid, when the measures were at their strictest, it was far from that in the mobile network, with people clearly moving more freely and returning to their everyday lives in the summer.
During the pandemic, it became clear how extremely important the availability of the internet is. It was absolutely essential that the internet be up and running virtually all the time, at all hours, for online classes or work conferences. And in quality for all one million households connected to our network. Previously we were used to people consuming data, i.e., downloading it, whereas during the pandemic they started playing their cameras more, sharing documents more... This partly compensated for the disproportion between data traffic to and from users.
So traffic in mobile network has grown more than in fixed network? In both, and the trends were changing during the pandemic. Last autumn, when the lockdown had not yet been announced, we noticed from the nature of the traffic in the network and the interest of people in connections that Czechs were preparing for the next lockdown. This is commonly seen at the end of the holidays, when people return from their vacations. Last year however, it came later, at the time of the regional elections. People started ordering internet subscriptions or increasing the capacity on existing lines. Which later turned out, unfortunately, to be a correct assumption.
The second interesting moment is related to this year's hockey championship. There was no lockdown, people moved freely and watched the Czech team's games on their mobile phones, which more than doubled the volume of traffic on the mobile network. At the same time, the parameter of the time of the match was crucial. When an important match is played in the afternoon, the mobile network has high traffic. When an popular match is played in the evening, everyone watches over a fixed connection. We must be prepared for all this.
Has the rise of online video rental sites such as Netflix had an impact on Cetin's network? In the past, data usage on the mobile network and the fixed network have always somehow complemented each other, alternating in peak traffic periods. But during the pandemic, all the rules were no longer valid, suddenly everyone started consuming content on mobile and on fixed line at the same time. We had to significantly increase capacity. This is not a problem when you need to add units of percent, or even fifty percent. When you need to get hundreds of percent extra capacity into the network, it's no easy task.
Do you expect Internet TV to continue to grow in the Czech Republic? VOD (video on demand) is an increasingly fast-growing market. In neighboring countries, the share of various forms of pay-TV is more than 90 per cent of all television entertainment; in the Czech Republic it is about 50 per cent. We are preparing a new platform for internet TV, which we will provide to our operators within the PPF Group, and we would like to provide this service to other operators who do not have the capacity to develop it independently.
You take care of the mobile networks of O2, T-Mobile and Nordic Telecom. Will fewer masts and transmitters be enough for 4G and future 5G? In general, an increasing number of transmitters are needed. But in Prague, for example, the network is so dense at the moment that there is no need to make it even more dense; there are locations where there are transmitters every 100 or 200 meters. However, in the long term, the process of densifying the network is never ending, so to be able to keep up with the increasing traffic on the network, it will simply be necessary. To keep up with the times, we are replacing the mobile access network with a completely new, so-called single RAN, which is a combination of 2G, 4G/LTE and 5G technologies in one universal solution.
When will the entire Prague Metro finally be covered? We've been reminded about Metro for a long time, but I don't think it's entirely fair to blame it primarily on the operators. Anyway: by the end of this year we will have most of the stations covered. Because of Covid, we still have 13 sections to go, so the final completion will not take place until early 2022.
Last year you completed the move from the Central Telecommunications Building in Žižkov to the new premises in Harfa. How much area does this allow you to save? We're down from 72,000 square meters to 13,000. The old building had its charm, but it was outdated and very wasteful. In the 1980s, there were two and a half thousand people working there, including over a thousand switchboard operators, which is completely unnecessary from the point of view of today's technology and there was no point in keeping the facility artificially alive. By moving to a more modern complex, we have achieved significant energy savings and our operations are now more environment-friendly.
More than six years on, how do you assess the separation of Cetin from O2? Developments in the global telecoms market confirm that the separation of the technology and infrastructure part from the rest of the operator was an extremely important decision. This model was then followed by other companies such as Vantage (Vodafone) and TOTEM (Orange). After the split, both companies were able to concentrate on what they were doing and were not held back by the &ldquo;other part&rdquo;. Cetin was better positioned to start providing fixed connectivity not just to O2 customers, but to attract more than 20 major ISP partners. This has effectively led to much more competition, which is of course appreciated by customers in the form of a broader choice according to a wide range of parameters.
Last year, Cetin became part of a multinational group with presence in other countries. What does this mean for Czech customers? Cetin Group is one of the largest infrastructure telecommunications operators in Central Europe, grouping together Czech Cetin and the infrastructure companies created as a result of the separation from local mobile operators &ndash; Telenor Group &ndash; in Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia. We have become part of a larger company, and this regional model presents interesting opportunities for technological, operational and investment synergies that will also benefit customers in the Czech Republic.
Can you get better technology purchase prices due to greater scale? This is one of the areas where the synergy effect of a larger grouping is positively manifested.
A month ago, your shareholder, the PPF Group, sold a third of the shares of Cetin Group to Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC. Are you planning to enter the Asian markets? New opportunities have opened up for CETIN Group to benefit from the experience of a leading global infrastructure fund. In the telecoms infrastructure market, the Group may thus have opportunities for further growth, but it is looking mainly at markets that are a natural extension of the areas in which it already operates, rather than Asia.
Does this transaction mean the cancellation or at least postponement of the plans for IPO that has been speculated about in connection with Cetin? Yes, given the agreement between PPF and&nbsp;GIC, an IPO has become irrelevant. 
Are you considering acquisitions of data networks, for example from independent operators? We monitor the market, analyze several options each year and negotiations are ongoing. But our position in this respect is quite complicated. Alternative operators usually own the entire infrastructure, not only the end-customer connection itself, but also the other network elements required for interconnection. And logically they sell it as a whole, it doesn't pay to split it up. And we already own most of these elements, so any acquisitions are not completely economically viable for us. Moreover, as a wholesale operator, we don't want to buy a customer base, our focus is strictly on infrastructure, not the retail market.
I understand, infrastructure is crucial in today's world. We live in a time when internet connectivity is the key to everything, a necessary part of life, just like electricity, water or gas. Many people have come to understand that you can't do several things without the internet, and it will be an even more sensitive parameter in the future. When I was working in Germany, ATMs and payment terminals in a quarter of the country stopped working due to a combination of two failures. Even though it was on a Saturday morning, the impact was substantial: people were not able to shop, withdraw money, anything. When we explained this to the big clients afterwards, their answer was simple: we will pay anything, just don't let it happen again.
Many households experienced a similar epiphany during the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp; Many people have realized that WiFi shared with neighbors is not optimal for children&rsquo;s remote learning. And even this little detail illustrates how dependent our lives are on internet connectivity. The digitalization of our lives is unstoppable and connectivity is a prerequisite. Everyone has to answer the following question for themselves: Is it possible to imagine life without the internet? Even for everyday tasks, work, cars and public transport, connectivity is necessary. Whether we like it or not, the internet is at the heart of everything that happens in our lives. Data is life.
*****
Author: Ondřej Hergesell

CETIN CEO in interview for Euro Weekly

CZK 27 billion put in the ground

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O2 triumphs in speed tests on multiple fronts (Czech Technical University)