Monthly Monitoring Report No. 9/2021: NetTest measurement tool and accompanying campaign; approved amendment and the end of nuisance telemarketing; education of senior citizens

Prague, 21 September 2021 - In September monitoring report we summarize activities and events at CTU during the past month. CTU has launched its own measurement tool NetTest to measure speed of Internet access service and has also launched the accompanying information campaign about consumer rights. Consumers will also be pleased by the approval of the amendment to the Electronic Communications Act, which, among other things, regulates the rules for telemarketing calls. We were also dealing with education or checking how providers meet their obligations. 

At the end of last week CTU has launched the NetTest, a new tool for measurement of quality and speed of Internet access service. The launch was accompanied by an information campaign with the aim to invite consumers to be aware of their rights in the field of Internet access services. They should be informed about the obligations of providers, be able to measure and control the speed declared in their contract and, in case of need, be able to raise a claim regarding the quality of the service provided. Main face of the campaign is the actor Mr. Otakar Brousek, jr., who appears in promotional spots run by Česká televize (Czech TV) and Český rozhlas (Czech Radio) until the end of November. 

There are also inspections of Internet access service providers who still have not modified their contract documents to include precisely specified parameters in compliance with the terms of the general authorization which clearly defines the allowable discrepancies between advertised and actually achieved Internet access speeds. 

Last Wednesday, The Chamber of Deputies overruled the Senate and approved by a majority of 137 votes the transposition amendment to the Electronic Communications Act in its original version. The amendment will now go to the President of the Czech Republic for his signature. This is the implementation of the European Code into Czech law. This is good news particularly for consumers, as well as for disabled people, to whom the CTU can provide more conceptual support. 

The Telecommunication Academy is a project, which serves to educate senior citizens and has been based mainly on personal presentations by our lecturers to senior citizens. At the time of pandemic, it was necessary to look for other channels to reach the target group, and that is how educational videos were created. These are now more modern, professional and focused on one specific issue. The topic of the first new video is making a complaint about damaged mail.

Press Unit
Czech Telecommunication Office
Tereza Meravá