Communications

The fixed-line market in Poland is open in the areas of local and inter-city calls. Liberalization awaits the international calls market. We also want to open the postal market. We are working on a program, which will be in accordance with EU directives and preparing our postal services market for a gradual opening for European competition.
The largest telecommunications operator in Poland is Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (Polish Telecom). In the Financial Times May 2001 ranking of the 500 largest companies in Europe, TPSA came out in top spot in Central and Eastern Europe. TPSA occupied 170th place in Europe as a whole, overtaking amongst others German airline Lufthansa. It was estimated that TPSA market value is almost $9.6 billion. The Ministry of the Treasury holds not much more than one fifth of TPSA shares at the moment.
Apart from fixed–line telephony, TPSA deals with data transmitting, leasing of connections (including satellite) and provides radio communication services. TPSA largest competitors on the Polish market are the following companies: Netia, Telefonia Lokalna Dialog, El-Net, the Independent Interzone Operator (Niezalezny Operator Miedzystrefowy, or NOM) and Energis. At the end of 2001, these companies combined had about 740,000 customers.
The next round of changes in the telecommunications market took place in 2002. The most important was the lifting of obligations to hold licenses to operate on the telecommunications market. The telecommunications law stipulated that this type of operation could be conducted on the basis of permits, which would be possible to obtain faster and more easily. Three mobile phone networks operate in Poland:

·  Centertel, belonging to the TPSA capital group (the Idea Centertel network);

·  Polkomtel S.A. (the Plus GSM network)

·  Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa S.A., (the Era GSM network).

These three mobile phone networks have a combined approximately 11 million customers – already more Poles use mobile phones than fixed line telephones. The number of mobile phone users continues to grow very strongly and it is expected that by the end of 2005 every second Pole will have his or her own mobile phone. Costs of calls from mobile phones are falling and the phones themselves can be bought for a symbolic zloty in many cases. Monthly, the average Pole talks an average of 170 minutes and sends eight text messages.
A third generation mobile phone (UMTS) tender in Poland has already been held. Licenses were granted to mobile phone companies already active on the Polish market. Due to delays all over the world, Poland will also see a delay in the introduction of 3-G telephones. The first connections with the help of UMTS will most likely start to be realized at the end of 2003, start of 2004.
Despite the fast growing number of mobile phone users in Poland, the numbers are still not as high as in other European countries, though the market is continuously developing. And foreign telecommunication companies noticing this are ever more interested in investing in Poland: France Telecom (TPSA and Centertel), Deutsche Telecom and Vivendi (both in Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa), and Swedish Telia (Netia).

source: www.poland.gov.pl