O2 Czechia is a major telecommunications provider operating in the Czech Republic. The company was established in 1990 as a state-owned enterprise under the name Czech Telecom. It underwent a significant transformation in 2005 when it was acquired by the global telecommunications conglomerate, Telefónica. The acquisition resulted in a rebranding, and the company was renamed Telefónica Czech Republic. In 2013, the company was further sold to PPF Group, a Czech investment firm, and in 2014, it underwent another rebranding to its current name, O2 Czechia. Despite the changes in ownership and branding, the company continues to be a dominant player in the Czech telecommunications market.
Alias
O2 Czech Republic a.s.
Country
Czechia
Type
Network Operator
O2 Logo

3G Network

The company initially provided 2G GSM services over the 900 and 1800 MHz bands, and launched 3G UMTS over B1 (2100 MHz) in April 2006 which it upgraded to DC-HSPA+ in April 2013.

Its 3G network shutdown completed during November 2021.

Date Event Subtype
Launch of 3G Network
Launch
Shutdown of 3G Network
Shut Down

4G Network

4G LTE was launched in June 2012 over the B3 (1800 MHz) band, and adding B20 (800 MHz) in 2014 as part of its LTE-A rollout, providing 2C aggregation with peak data rates of 185 Mbps. 3C aggregation was activated in 2016 adding B7 (2600 MHz) to the LTE-A mix, and additional 1800 MHz spectrum secured in 2017 saw a further 33% increase in peak DL data rates.

December 2016 saw the successful pilot of LTE-A Pro, using 4X4 MIMO and 256 QAM to achieve 1.2 Gbps using B3, B7, B20, and B38 carriers totalling 65 MHz of bandwidth.

In December 2017 the company announced the deployment of a B38 (2600 MHz) TDD LTE-A Pro Massive MIMO network, using its 25 MHz wide carrier to provide additional capacity in high density/traffic areas. In March 2019 the company announced the introduction 4X4 MIMO, 256QAM, and 4C CA technologies on the remainder of its LTE-A Pro network, taking data rates above the gigabit mark.

4G Frequency Bands
Network Frequency Band Max. Channel Bandwidth Status
B1 (2100 MHz)
20
Active
B3 (1800 MHz)
20
Active
B7 (2600 MHz)
20
Active
B20 (800 MHz)
10
Active
B38 (2600 MHz)
20
Active
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 4G Network
Launch

5G Network

During the country's 2017 3.5 GHz spectrum auction, O2 secured a single contiguous 40 MHz block from 3680 to 3720 MHz - the maximum permitted by the national regulator.

O2 was reported to have conducted a soft-launch of its 5G network in April 2019, however this was determined to be a misidentification of the company announcing its LTE-A Pro network provided "fifth generation" speeds with a 1 Gbps data rate. O2's 5G launch occurred in December 2020.

Network Frequency Band Max. Channel Bandwidth Status
n78 (3500 MHz)
40
Active
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 5G Network
Launch