Telefónica O2 is making changes to the Calling with Kvído service. The opportunity to call mobile and fixed-line numbers in the Czech Republic for one minute absolutely free of charge now applies solely to calls within the O2 network. The change is valid from July 23, 2009. All other service usage conditions remain the same.

"There has been a lot of interest in Calling with Kvído. It is being used by 150,000 customers at present. Unfortunately, due to low interest from advertisers, we are not able to cover the operator fees for calls to other networks," says Jana Vyhlídalová, Director of Advertising and Information Services, Telefónica O2, adding, "In times of economic crises, advertisers generally decrease their expenditures, and this affects investment into voice advertising. At this time, we are noticing a far greater interest in sending batch SMS and MMS messages and in the internet form of mobile advertising."

The Calling with Kvído service is for all mobile and fixed-line Telefónica O2 customers. To use it, they simply dial 829 829 829 and listen to a short advertisement before making their call. Then they simply dial the number of the party they wish to call for free for one minute. After 45 seconds, a warning tone is played to indicate that the duration of the sponsored call is almost over.

All users with prepaid cards may make five sponsored calls in the O2 network per week; tariff customers can make up to ten sponsored calls per week. In addition, all customers registered at the www.platitokvido.cz website can get up to twenty sponsored calls per week. Customers with other operators can call 800 225 225 to learn about their opportunities to use the service.

The Calling with Kvído service cannot be used for calls from payphones. It also cannot be used for calls to premium rate numbers, international calls, and calls from abroad to the Czech Republic.