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Q3 2020: Growing interest in mobile data – support for the Czech economy – Gigabit society

Also, in the third quarter of 2020 the pandemic situation affected life and the state of the economy in the Czech Republic. In the second quarter, T-Mobile focused on measures to start the economy. In the summer months operator came up with a unique campaign to revive tourism industry in the Czech Republic. Despite the uncertain economic situation caused by the pandemic, T-Mobile achieved an improvement in key financial indicators in the third quarter compared to the second quarter of this year. The largest domestic mobile operator continued to successfully pursue its strategic goals, especially the liberalization of Internet and the building of a gigabit society. In the area of ​​CSR, T-Mobile distributed almost two million crowns to projects aimed at combating loneliness and social isolation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“After a seemingly carefree summer, we all had to realize again how uncertain our times are. Reliable telecommunications services are essential and I am glad that we can provide them to our customers,” says Juraj Bóna, T-Mobile's Director for the Czech Republic, adding: “Thanks to our services, our customers can always be in touch, no matter if it is contact with their loved ones, work matters or distance learning.”

In July and August, T-Mobile launched a unique campaign “Spolu po magentové” to support domestic tourism. Tens of thousands of customers used the offer of unlimited data free of charge in more than 1,000 tourist locations. Available mobile internet for everyone was also supported by T-Mobile with a new offer of data packages for users of prepaid Twist cards and the virtual operator Kaktus, or 24GB data free of charge for the purchase of a smartphone.

Despite complicated conditions, the construction of the T-Mobile fiber network continued in the third quarter as planned. In nine months, the operator expanded its coverage by another 40,000 households. By the end of the year, another more than 30,000 should be added and the total number will thus be close to 200,000. T-Mobile also completed the construction of the first “5G ready” campus network in July in cooperation with VŠB-TUO.

In September, the operator was the first to offer its customers the Information Line of the Hygienic Services of the Czech Republic 1221 free of charge. In the following months, T-Mobile also focused on targeted assistance, for example to medical facilities, single families, schoolchildren who could not attend distance learning…

Customers

Mobile services: As of 30 September 2020, T-Mobile’s mobile services were being used by almost 6.2 million customers. More than 58% of the base are customers with a contract. The number of customers using a prepaid contract decreases slightly over time; on the contrary, the popularity of M2M SIM cards for smart devices, the number of which has already exceeded half a million, is growing in double digits.

Fixed broadband: In three quarters of 2020, fixed services, including xDSL, Pevný internet vzduchem (Fixed Internet Over the Air), or Pevný internet do zásuvky (Plug-in Fixed Line Internet), were used by 361,000 customers; i.e. by 18.4% more than in the same period of 2019.

TV: T-Mobile TVs on IPTV or satellite platforms were used by almost 184,000 customers by the end of Q3 2020 (plus 48.4% compared to same period of 2019).

The third quarter of 2020 has even confirmed the trend started in the spring emergency state: people were using telecommunication services more intensively, to be in contact with their families and friends, to access the information needed or to work remotely. Increased data traffic was also supported by unique summer campaign “Spolu po magentové”.Operational results

The number of called minutes increased y/y by 10.0%, the number of SMS by 32.5% to over 4 billion. The overall volume of data transmitted grew even more dramatically: the mobile and FWA data traffic grew by 41.1% y/y, the amount of the data transmitted only by mobile devices increased by 58.1 %, compared to the same period of 2019.

^{Note: Mobile data traffic (include tariffs: Mobile data tariffs + Pevný internet bez drátu). Mobile and fix data traffic (include tariffs: Mobile data tariffs + Pevný internet bez drátu + Pevný internet vzduchem + Pevný internet do zásuvky).}

Financial indicators

A significant increase in customer consumption was also reflected in sales growth – total revenues from mobile and fixed-line services including hardware sales slightly grew by 1.6% and exceeded CZK 20.8 billion in the first three quarters of 2020. Key financial indicators also improved compared to the period from April to June this year. The results confirm the company’s good performance and its position on the Czech market.

^{Note: Total revenues reported without ICSS – separate part of DT international business. EBITDA After Lease according new IFRS 15 standard. The numbers are retrospectively adjusted.}