Centertel is closer to recapturing its former glory

Mobile operator Centertel may return to profit as early as in the third quarter, the company's CEO Sławomir Skrodzki said on Thursday. The company, controlled by TPSA and France Telecom, is on track to meet its revenue target of zł. 4.3 billion, Skrodzk said. However, he would not to reveal the company's figures for the second quarter of the year, but stressed the positive tendency in sales will be sustained. At the end of the first quarter, Centertel's revenues grew by 32.4% against the same period in 2002. Centertel, which operates under Idea brand name, has recently overtaken Vodafone's Polkomtel as the second largest Polish mobile operator with 5 million subscribers and a 32.69 % market share. The operator, together with its two competitors PTC and Polkomtel, turned to the Post and Telecommunications Regulation Office (URTiP) to postpone the launching of the UMTS system. (Parkiet, p. 3) J.K.