Oskar Mobil a.s.

Oskar Mobil a.s. was a telecommunications company in the Czech Republic between 1999 and 2005. The company was purchased by Vodafone in 2005 and changed its name to Vodafone Czech Republic a.s.[1]

Oskar Mobil a.s.
TypeCorporation
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded1999
Defunct2005
Headquarters
Czech Republic
Productsmobile phones
SubsidiariesTIW

After an extended and intense tendering process,[2] a third GSM dual-band 900/1800 MHz license was awarded to a consortium led by TIW (operating in the Czech Republic under the name ClearWave, N.V.) in Prague on September 29, 1999.[3]

Five months later on March 1, 2000, Oskar went live as Cesky Mobil a.s.[4] The company was the third GSM network in the Czech Republic. Karla Stephens was its first official employee and served as Chief Commercial Officer. In the coming years, Oskar continued to grow at pace, settling at 17% market share with 1.83M customers by 2005.[5] Stephens was promoted to COO ("Chief Oskar Officer") in 2002. Her tenure as COO did not go unnoticed by the Czech media and telecommunications industry analysts. Oskar was the recipient of numerous awards in its six years on the Czech market, including the Rhodos Image Award - Telecom for 2003–2005, the World Communication Award (2001–2002, 2003, 2005)[6] and the League of American Communications Professionals' Vision Award (Best Annual Report) for (2001, 2003 and 2005).[7] Stephens herself also earned a Stevie Award (2005) for Female Entrepreneurs in EMEA.[8]

Rumors of financial trouble at TIW[9] forced Oskar to eventually undertake a massive corporate debt refinancing late in 2004. Fortunately for Stephens and Tolstoy, the debt refinancing was a tremendous success. There was speculation as to which telecommunications giant, Orange or Vodafone, would make their move into the Czech market. Oskar was bid on solely by Vodafone and a deal was struck on March 15, 2005 for an estimated $860M-$1.3B,[10][11] a return of over 100% for the TIW investors and a giant victory for senior management.

Vodafone continues to perform well in the Czech market. In 2010, the company gained its three millionth customer and competition with T-Mobile and O2 remains as fierce as ever.[12]

Former Executives
  • Karla Stephens-Tolstoy, former Oskar CEO; current Tokii CEO[13]
  • Muriel Anton, former Oskar Vice President (Finance); current Vodafone Czech Republic a.s. CEO[14]
  • Andre Jerome, former Oskar Vice President (Legal and Regulatory)[15]
  • Mario Mele, former Oskar Vice President (Marketing)[16]
  • Igor Prervosky, former Oskar Vice President (Brand)[17]
  • Fran Hansen, former Oskar Vice President (Human Resources)
  • Ann Hofvander, former Oskar Vice President (Sales)[18]
  • Andreas Laukemann, former Oskar Vice President (Planning)
  • Fred Hrenchuk, former Oskar Vice President (Technology)[19]

References
  1. "EU OKs Vodafone To Buy Czech Telecom Co Oskar Mobil" 25 May 2005 Cellular-News. Retrieved 23 July 2012
  2. Andress, Mark. "Telecom beauty parade ends" 18 August 1999 Prague Post. Retrieved 24 July 2012
  3. http://www.vodafone.cz/about_en/press/press_news.htm?lang=en&id=7&year=1999
  4. Cesky Mobil a.s. (Oskar Mobil) Retrieved 24 July 2012
  5. "Roger that" 3 February 2005 Prague Post. Retrieved 23 July 2012
  6. World Communication Awards Retrieved 24 July 2012
  7. "LACP Award Programs" Retrieved 25 July 2012
  8. 2005 Stevie Awards Winners & Finalists Retrieved 25 July 2012
  9. "Oskar parent faces cash crunch" 16 October 2002 Prague Post. Retrieved 24 July 2012
  10. "movers shakers" 7 April 2005 Prague Post. Retrieved 25 July 2012
  11. Kenety, Brian. "Britain's Vodafone to buy Oskar Mobil in Czech record-breaking deal" 17 March 2005 Radio CZ. Retrieved 24 July 2012
  12. "Iconic Impressions" Prague Post. Retrieved 20 July 2012
  13. Eichler, Leah. "Like it or not, maternity leave hurts your career." 14 October 2011 The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 11 July 2012
  14. "Interview with Muriel Anton, CEO of Vodafone on Doing Business in the Czech Republic" 21 March 2011 Czech Marketplace. Retrieved 25 July 2012
  15. "Changes on the Czech mobile market" 19 July 2005 CEE IT and Telecom. Retrieved 25 July 2012
  16. "Aqua America" Market Watch. Retrieved 25 July 2012
  17. "Oskar to introduce VPN Company unlimited" 29 September 2003 TelecomPaper. Retrieved 25 July 2012
  18. "Oskar Vodafone has 2 million customers 23 Friday 2005 TelecomPaper. Retrieved 25 July 2012
  19. "Mobile broadband is just around the corner in Central Europe: Siemens supplies EDGE technology to Oskar Mobil in the Czech Republic" 14 December 2004 Siemens Enterprise Communications. Retrieved 25 July 2012
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