Czech Telecom is holding Internet development hostage

by Geoffrey S. Goodfellow
Prague Business Journal
June 26, 2000 - page 16

Congratulations to Bessel Kok at Czech Telecom for delaying the
de-monopolization of the telephone company. You have eminently succeeded in
postponing the prosperity this country would derive from the increased use
of the Internet today in the emerging New Economy, where value is based on
knowledge and practical experience. For the sole benefit of your own
continuing monopoly status revenues, the growth, and one could also arguably
posit the country's greater economic well-being, has been stymied and
sacrificed.

The "cost" of your success is that the innately curious and
technology-hungry Czechs are further delayed from affordable Internet access
during the weekday light hours and will continue to remain in the dark to
the Internet's advantages. Instead, if the de-monopolization of Telecom were
to be accelerated or the existing Internet 2000 acceptable late night and
weekend prices were to be in effect 24 hours a day, seven days a week, many
entrepreneurial activities would be germinated that could plant the seeds
for thousands of potential flowers to bloom.

The result of an accelerated Internet blossoming would be an astute, present
day knowledgeable and practically experienced citizenry poised for full
participation in the New Economy. Additionally, overall government revenues
would be increased in the form of the taxes paid by the SROs that would be
formed and the secondary effects on the people who would be employed doing
everything from selling more paper clips to building more new office
buildings.

Through Bessel Kok's direction, Telesource has placed a higher priority on
funding Cesky Telecoms new yellow colors and on retaining its monopoly
status.

Instead, these efforts and resources should be redirected at speeding the
demonopolization and for leveling the playing field in a fully competitive
environment. An interim short-term solution would be to make the Internet
2000 late night and weekend tariff be in effect 24/7. This one simple and
easily implemented move would provide for the immediate and tangible benefit
of bringing an acceptable price of Internet access all the time to everyone,
from the precocious teen-ager in Prague to the coal miner in Ostrava who
wants the opportunity to reinvent himself and participate in the New
Economy.

As a private investor I readily acknowledge and respect that a company does
indeed need to earn a profit to stay in business and in good stead with its
shareholders. However, it is a sad day for me when I see that short-sighted
greed prevails over the basic common sense of providing the greatest good
for the greatest number: the customers and the citizens of this fine
country.

Geoffrey S. Goodfellow founded RadioMail Corporation and is a private
investor and DJ who lives in Prague.