Eurotel:Over 80,000 Use CDMA Wireless Broadband Internet"

PRAGUE -(Dow Jones)- Czech cellular operator Eurotel Praha, Monday said it had more than 80,000 users of its wireless broadband Internet service using the CDMA standard, as at May 15.

Eurotel is a unit of Cesky Telecom, a leading local telecommunications company majority-owned by Spain's Telefonica.

Eurotel launched its CDMA service in August 2004 and it had 50,000 users after its first year, four months before it began offering its UMTS services.

Eurotel's CDMA broadband Internet service operates in the 450-megahertz bandwidth, currently covering more than 80% of the Czech Republic's population. The UMTS service, capable of offering higher connection speeds than the CDMA standard, is available only in Prague and several other major Czech cities.

The company hasn't yet released details on its UMTS customer numbers.

Eurotel is planning to boost the capacity of its CDMA access points, so they can handle higher user traffic, the company said in a statement.

Eurotel also has about 68,000 users of its slow-speed wireless Internet service, using its GSM standard.

At the end of the first quarter, Eurotel's overall customer base, including both voice and data services users, totaled 4.7 million.

Company Web site: http://www.eurotel.cz

-By Leos Rousek; Dow Jones Newswires; +420 221 085 273; leos.rousek@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires "

Posted to the site on 15th May 2006