Press Releases

Budapest, February 23, 2006 10:00

Magyar Telekom has announced today at a press conference in Bucharest that EUfonika, a new brand and service in Romania's telecommunications market, was launched today to offer favorably priced telephone calls to Romanian customers. Hungary's leading telecommunications company -after its Bulgarian acquisition in November 2005 - appears on a new South-East European market as an innovative and dynamic alternative carrier.

The EUfonika service allows residential and business customers with a Romtelecom fixed line subscription to save 20% on their national long distance calls and 40% on international calls. Using Eufonika, customers can talk longer and more often for the same price than ever before.

The new EUfonika service, launched by Combridge, the Magyar Telekom Group's Romanian subsidiary, takes advantage of the progress Romania has made in telecom liberalization. EUfonika's favorable prices are supported by IP (Internet Protocol) based Next Generation Network (NGN) technology and an innovative business model which allows a flexible, streamlined organization to operate a high quality service in a most cost efficient way. With EUfonika entering the market, Romania fully complies with telecom market liberalization, an important EU requirement.

Customers can access the EUfonika service in a very simple way. All a subscriber has to do is just call the 0800 88 1688 toll free number and order the service from EUfonika's call center. Operators then register the user's data for billing purposes and then send a registration form with an information pack to the user by post. In return for registration the user gets 5 minutes free of charge in a long distance direction to test the service. If the user likes it, s/he signs the contract and returns it to EUfonika. When this is complete, the customer gets additional 25 minutes free of charge in long distance directions. From then onwards, every time the customer wants to save 20% on national long distance calls or 40% on international calls, s/he should dial the 1688 prefix before the required number. Customers do not have to pay any connection or monthly subscription fees, nor do they have to change their phone number or install any new wires.

At the end of each month EUfonika customers get a separate bill and they do not have to pay to Romtelecom for the calls dialed through the 1688 prefix. In other words, users remain Romtelecom subscribers, continue to pay the monthly fee to Romtelecom and the calls dialed without the prefix. Only the favorably priced calls initiated with 1688 have to be paid to EUfonika.

Introducing the new EUfonika service Levente Csenteri, Executive Director of Combridge said: "We are confident that subscribers will appreciate EUfonika, which offers real alternative for price conscious, rational customers. EUfonika's presence in the market means that both residential and business users will get low tariffs, seamless operation and excellent customer service. The benefits of a liberalized market will be felt earlier than many people would have expected."

Christopher Mattheisen, Chief Officer of Magyar Telekom's Wireline Services commented: "We are delighted to support free market competition for Romanian consumers' benefit and increase demand for better prices. I am sure that customers will appreciate not only the cheap phone calls that are available through EUfonika, but its simple usage and the established European quality. International experience shows that with the appearance of an alternative fixed line telephone operator, customers remain more loyal to the incumbent provider and churn rate usually reduces as the possibility of choice increases customer satisfaction."

Combridge, a subsidiary of Magyar Telekom incorporated in Romania, offers a competitive service portfolio in Romania's telecommunications market. Combridge's product portfolio - consisting primarily of wholesale data and internet services for its business partners, telecommunication and internet service providers - is expanding from 2006 to include retail services provided for residential and business customers.