Attention
[the customer's wish is what
matters]
We focused on getting ourselves ready for the introduction
of new and interesting products
for our customers and so further improve
the quality of our services. Making calls in our network
is still one of the most advantageous options in Slovakia. |
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Pay only as much as your call takes
In 2002 we became one of the first fixed line telecommunications
operators in Europe to introduce time-based billing (TBB)
after the first minute of a call. TBB enabled us to provide
our customers with new calling plans at advantageous prices
via almost 1.5 million telephone lines.
Breakdown of calls in 2002 |
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Best prices in Slovakia
Along with TBB after the first minute of a call we introduced
new standard tariffs for residential clients with calling
plans that include free minutes for local and long-distance
calls. TBB together with a new improved bill layout gave our
customers a better overview of their calling behaviour.
At the time of launching new calling plans we also offered
prices for weekend calls, which were the best in Slovakia.
The price of a long-distance call was only SKK 1.50*per minute
and you could make local calls at just SKK 1.00 per minute.
Prices for calls made within our network were still among
the most advantageous in the country.
* Prices given in this chapter are VAT exclusive
Option of choice with Slovenské telekomunikácie,
a.s.
TBB after the first minute of a call allowed us to meet
the expectations and demands of our customers in a better
and more accurate way. It let us also bring optional calling
plans with special tariffs to the market. ST Mini with a credit
of 30 free minutes was immediately popular and was the most
suitable solution for "passive" users (i.e. those
who receive rather than make calls). ST Maxi was another completely
new calling plan for more solid residential customers, providing
a credit of 60 free minutes and exceptionally low
prices for off-peak and weekend calls - only SKK 0.60 per
minute for local and long-distance calls.
The new calling plans Business Partner 12, 60 and 300 were
introduced in the second half of 2002 and were designed in order
to meet the high communications demands of our small, medium-sized,
and large business customers. All of these calling plans offer
cheaper international calls, call discounts and loyalty bonuses.
Advantageous Internet
In October 2002 Slovenské telekomunikácie, a.s. introduced
innovative plans for Internet users - Internet Efektiv and
Internet Intensiv. They represent a solution for customers
who spend a lot of time on the Internet, e.g. to browse web
pages, download files or on-line applications. The tariff
model decreases the price of longer calls on the Internet
and provides a basic number of free hours.
ST Voice-VPN tailor-made solution
We introduced customised solutions for voice communication
to provide comprehensive solutions to our largest accounts.
These solutions integrate all accesses of the client and create
a virtual voice network with special billing and discounts.
ST ISDN constantly growing
At the end of 2002 customers of Slovenské telekomunikácie,
a.s. used a total of 129,400 ISDN B-channels, including basic
(BRA) and primary (PRA) access. This represents an increase
of 57.4% compared to the previous year. ISDN is popular especially
among business customers and at the end of 2002 almost every
4th business line had ISDN access. In August 2002 we introduced
new calling plans - ST ISDN Profi and ST ISDN Dynamik, the
latter of which has become the most popular calling plan for
ISDN.
Number of ISDN B-channels |
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Leading the way in data communications
In the field of data services we continued with the stabilisation
of our most important data service - leased lines service
and with development towards virtual private networks based
on IP/MPLS.
Last year we extended our product portfolio of leased lines
to include metropolitan leased lines, which have both terminal
points located in one of the county capitals. We successfully
completed the pilot provisioning of the ST Dial VPN service
and established it as one of our standard products. In
order to increase the quality of data services, we improved
the quality parameters of the ST-IP network by application
of MPLS technology in 2002. In addition to the provision of
the IP VPN service based on Frame Relay and ATM, this improvement
of quality also enabled us to provide a totally manageable
MPLS VPN network.
ST Online leads the market
In 2002 ST Online reached the position of mass Internet
product offering integrated, standardised solutions with simple
operation and competitive prices. A market share exceeding
50% is proof of this success. The number of customers using
ST Online increased in 2002 by 44.6%, totalling 65,000 at
the end of the year.
Customer development – ST Online |
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Increased customer satisfaction with redesigned
ST Online portfolio
The creation of a clear portfolio of accesses, e-mail and
hosting products that can be easily combined and enable simple
reporting of costs and revenues, together with the fact that
we successfully completed their efficient implementation,
resulted in an increase in the average number of new customers
from 1,200 to 3,000 in the last three months of 2002.
The new situation on the market called for a modular portfolio
of individual products for connection, electronic mail services,
and web hosting services from which customers could tailor-make
a solution best suited to their needs.
ST Online portal
In October 2002 we made a new version of ST Online website
available to our customers - www.stonline.sk
and the interface for ST Online products moj.stonline.sk
(electronic mail service, webmail, SMS notification, user
portal, web calendar, address book and user tool). Customers
appreciated the new and easy-to-follow design of the website
and integrated webmail, as well as the possibilities offered
by the calendar.
Value added services
The most successful service on an intelligent network platform
that we introduced in 2002 was the toll-free number 0800,
which thanks to extended options and flexibility marked a
45% increase in revenues compared to 2001, and shared cost
number 0850, which after the introduction of new terms and
conditions of service in July 2002 marked revenues increase
by more than 100% compared to 2001.
Phone and prepaid cards are still very popular among customers.
The popularity of the Global prepaid card grew considerably,
which is confirmed by a 40% increase in revenues generated
by its usage, compared to 2001. The operator-assisted enquiry
service available to customers 24 hours a day non-stop was
also used very frequently.
Number of sold prepaid and active post-paid
cards |
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Positive development maintained in sales of
customer premises equipment
In 2002 Slovenské telekomunikácie, a.s. retained its leading
position on the market with customer premises equipment (CPE)
sales. The number of CPE sold increased by 24%. Revenues from
sales of CPE were influenced by the successful sales strategy
for the ISDN service aimed at acquiring long-term users.
Following the introduction of new calling plans combined
with a new type of CPE, we succeeded in stabilising the number
of customers. Thanks to the number and variety of CPE
sold in 2002, we managed to lay the foundation for the smooth
implementation of new value added services, e.g. SMS via fixed
networks, CLIP on analogue telephone lines, etc.
International carriers' services
Key emphasis was put on increasing the quality and sales
volume of international services. International ISDN coverage
with 38 operators in 34 countries accounts for almost 85%
of the outgoing international traffic volume. Sales activities
in the area of transit services and direct interconnection
with new alternative international operators facilitated an
increase in sales of transit services by 59% compared to 2001.
National carriers' services in preparation for
the liberalised market
Thanks to the implementation of many projects, as of 1 January
2003 we can sell our network services to new operators entering
the liberalised market even more efficiently. We are ready
for the liberalised market.
Our company has established a new organisational unit that
develops and provides specialised services to telecommunications
companies, especially to licensed providers of public telecommunications
network services and providers of other telecommunications
services. These target groups include national and international
carriers operating both in the Slovak Republic and abroad.
We offer interconnection services, network access services,
and transit services to these entities.
Radio and TV broadcasting
Slovenské telekomunikácie, a.s., Rádiokomunikácie, o.z.
provided radio and TV broadcasting for operators by law and
licence holders operating nation-wide. It also provided the
transport of modulations for transmitters via radio relay
routes and data transmission for other customers. Slovenské
telekomunikácie, a.s., Rádiokomunikácie, o.z. operates approximately
1,000 TV retranslating stations, via which it effectively
covers the territory of Slovakia for STV (Slovak TV) and STS
Mark’za (private TV). A positive result of 2002 was the construction
and launch of an up-link on the Kamz’k technical site by means
of which Slovenské telekomunikácie, a.s., Rádiokomunikácie,
o.z. now provides for the distribution of modulations for
SRo (Slovak radio), Twist, FUN, and OKEY radio stations, STV1
and STV2 (1st and 2nd channels of Slovak TV), and STS Mark’za
(private TV). We introduced a Slovak Link product to the market,
i.e. a package of radio and TV programs broadcast via satellite.
Customers can subscribe to Slovak Link either through a third
party (cable TV networks) or on an individual basis. The primary
goal of 2002 concerned the restructuring of the company, the
outcome of which was the foundation of two new companies,
RK Transmission, s.r.o. and RK Tower, s.r.o.
Call Centres
Our customers had two Call Centres at their disposal in
2002. The Call Centre in Košice served our residential customers
and the one in Žilina served the business clients. Altogether,
the Call Centres and ST Online Hotline employed almost 250 people,
by which we helped increase the employment rate in the respective
regions. Call Centres provide customers with free-of-charge
information on their telephone lines and the services they
use. Customers can also order new services or receive an explanation
about their bills there. The high number of incoming calls
proves that we have chosen the right way of communicating
with our customers.
Number of incoming calls to Call Centres
in 2002 |
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New sales channels
In 2002 we focused not only on the fast, high quality provision
of services to customers, but also on the offer of products
tailored to their needs. The right sales strategy was chosen
for business and residential customers via new sales channels.
Sales to business customers is based on the principle of individual
customer care by sales managers and sales representatives,
the number of which exceeded 100 in 2002.
New concept for Infotels
We prepared a new concept for Infotels in order to provide
services to our residential customers in more comfortable
and better located premises. The new sales points in Martin,
Košice and Žilina better present our products and help our
services be more competitive. Each of these Infotels offers
multimedia presentation of products, Internet browsing in
the style of Internet cafes and a place for testing of
CPE.
Satisfied authorised partners
We approach our customers directly at their premises all
over Slovakia via our authorised partners and agencies. ISDN,
ST Online, and telephone cards were the top selling products
through indirect sales. Authorised partners and agencies achieved
significant sales growth, while the sales network was extended
and quality increased further.
Successful marketing communication
Key attributes of brand image such as customer orientation,
an innovative company, a wide range of products and services,
as well as affordability, were considerably strengthened thanks
to campaigns focusing on both business and residential customer
segments. Product innovations were introduced to the market
using original and creative campaigns, which greatly boosted
their sales. The traditionally high level of these campaigns
was preserved. The greatest success in 2002 was the Silver
Drum Stick award from the Golden Drum International Advertising
Festival in Portorož for the "White campaign"
promoting Internet ST Online.
Our economic standing is solid, despite growing
competition
In 2002, the operating profit amounted to SKK 3,817m, which
in comparison to 2001 represents a slight decrease by SKK 257m;
however, in comparison to 2000 the amount of operating profit
increased by SKK 776m. As to revenues, the development
during past three years was stable, in 2002 the revenues amounted
to SKK 18,840m which represented a decrease by SKK 1,270m
compared to 2001 and at the same time an increase by SKK 470m
compared to 2000. In 2002, profit before tax amounted to SKK
4,486m which represents a decrease by SKK 13m compared to
2001 and an increase by SKK 3,716m compared to 2000.
The strategy of Slovenské telekomunikácie, a.s. has already
reaped its first rewards, as the EBITDA margin has progressively
improved thanks to steps improving productivity and the efficiency
of our company. In 2002 the EBITDA margin represented 49.8%,
while in 2001 it was 47.4% and in 2000 only 41.0%.
Revenue development by product cluster |
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We will deliver high quality and modern services
The year 2003 will be challenging for us as it is the first
year of a fully liberalised telecommunications market, while
also being the year in which customers will be given the chance
to compare our offer with that of our competitors and so decide
which company will supply them with telecommunications services.
Our primary goal will be to retain our current business and
residential customers and to win new ones as well. We will
continue with modern product innovations and ensuring the high
quality and speed of services. We want customers to know that
they can rely on our company - the leader on the Slovak telecommunications
market.
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