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. |
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
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
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
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
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
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
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. |