TP SA to invest zl.27 billion on IT and data transmission

Over the next three years national telecom operator Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TP SA) plans to spend at least zl.27 billion on investments aimed at turning data transmission and Internet activities into its primary field of activity. At the moment this division constitutes only 10% of TP SA's value, with fixed line telephony accounting for 70% and mobile telephony 20%. The company is aiming for a structure in which Internet and data transmission services would make up 40% of its value, according to TP SA president Pawel Rzepka. He stressed that heavy investment in Internet activities does not mean creating a typical Web portal similar to those already in existence. The company's e-commerce arm, TP Internet, will focus on security of Internet transactions. Rzepka pledged that TP Internet will be the first in Poland to offer use of an electronic signature. Another key area of investment will be mobile telecom arm Centertel, which operates the Idea GSM network. While the network is quickly adding new subscribers, it is still lagging behind its competitors, Plus GSM and Era GSM, so further investment will be necessary. Rzepka wants Centertel to maintain its subscriber growth rate of 100,000 per month. (Puls Biznesu, p.7) T.J.