Ceský Telecom Must Pay CZK 23 million to Tiscali

Prague, 7th July 2006 – The Local Court for Prague 3, last 29th of June, ruled against dominant telecommunications operator Český Telecom and in favour of alternative telecommunications operator Tiscali Czech Republic in a case involving fees for dial-up Internet access. The court turned down Český Telecom's action against an enforceable ruling by the Czech Telecommunications Authority (ČTÚ) which had ordered the dominant operator to pay CZK 23 million to TISCALI. The ruling covered the amount owed to Tiscali by Český Telecom for unpaid dial-up Internet termination fees during the period April-June 2005.

In response to the court's ruling, Tiscali issued the following statement by the company's General Manager, Naveed Gill: 

"Tiscali welcomes this decision by the Court. From April 2005 until the present, Český Telecom has failed to pay its debts to Tiscali for dial-up Internet termination fees on time and in full. The ČTÚ has so far issued two separate rulings in Tiscali's favor with regard to Český Telecom's failure to fulfil the terms of its contract with Tiscali as well as its failure to respect regulatory process procedures. Now, an independent court has ruled in Tiscali's favor in the case as well."

"We hope that Český Telecom will finally respect and comply with its legally binding obligations and that, following the view of the regulator and of the court in this matter, it will pay TISCALI the full amount which it owes to our company for unpaid dial-up Internet termination fees, which as of today stands in excess of CZK 70 million."

Tiscali now expects that Ctc would pay the whole debt.