PRESS RELEASE: From January, disabled and low-income people will be entitled to discounted prices for Internet and calls

Prague, 14 December 2022 - From 1 January 2023, four companies (T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s., Vodafone Czech Republic a.s., O2 Czech Republic a.s. and PODA a.s.) will be obliged to provide special prices based on a decision by the Czech Telecommunication Office. This is a price advantage in the maximum amount of CZK 200 per calendar month, which can be used for mobile or fixed Internet, mobile or fixed voice services, or for a bundle containing any of these services. The price advantage will be available for all services, tariffs and bundles provided by these companies. In addition to this obligation, T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s. must also allow to use the price advantage on at least one tariff via a prepaid card.

It is up to the authorised person to choose the company by which they will take the price advantage and for which of the services. However, each authorised person may only take advantage of this discount once per calendar month. Disabled and low-income persons can apply for the price reduction.

Disabled persons mean

(a) a holder of a ZTP disability card on account of total or profound hearing loss,

(b) a holder of a ZTP/P disability card,

(c) a person who is dependent on the assistance of another natural person at level II (moderate dependence), level III (severe dependence) or level IV (total dependence) or, in the case of a minor, a consumer who is personally taking care of the minor; or

(d) a consumer who is raising or who is personally taking care of a minor who has been entrusted to their care in substitution for that of their parents by a decision of the relevant authority and who is the holder of a disability card referred to in point (a) or (b)

A low-income person is defined as a person,

(a) whose countable income for the preceding calendar quarter is less than 2.15 times the subsistence level, if it is an individual; or

(b) who lives in the same household with other persons and the sum of their countable income and the countable incomes of those persons for the preceding calendar quarter is less than 2.15 times the subsistence level of the persons living in that household.

A person who meets the conditions mentioned above contacts one provider out of the 4 listed above. When applying for the price advantage, they shall prove that they are an authorised person and which service they want to use.  Disabled persons shall submit the relevant documents (ZTP, ZTP/P), or a notice or decision on the granting of a care allowance or a decision of the relevant authority on entrusting the child to the care of a substitute parent (for more details, see Article 1(2) of Government Regulation No 500/2021 Coll.) to the provider. The low-income persons shall provide a statutory declaration to the service provider. The Office will publish a template of statutory declaration, including the guidance for completing it with the current subsistence level amounts, on its website in the next week.