As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 11th of September, 2020, Labin and the municipalities of Gracac and Brtonigla are some of the Croatian locations which, as part of the WiFi4EU initiative, which has the aim of introducing free WiFi for citizens and visitors to public locations, were awarded a voucher in the amount of 15,000 euros.

Thanks to many years of successful cooperation with Hrvatski Telekom/Croatian Telecom, Labin and the municipalities of Gracac and Brtonigla have chosen the popular provider as a reliable technological partner and the best contractor to technologically provide public free WiFi internet for their citizens within the wider WiFi4EU initiative.

In addition to replacing the existing network with a new, faster and better network, equipment was installed in six new locations in Labin - Tito Square, San Marco promenade, the city market, Zelenice street in the city centre, the Kature playground and on the waterfront in Rabac - thus expanding the city's free internet coverage network. The WiFi4EU project has provided high-quality free internet to the citizens of Labin, as well as their guests, and it raises the standard in Labin, since today's way of life is closely linked to technology and communication.

"WiFi4EU is one of the many projects we're implementing in Labin. With this project, we're continuing to improve the infrastructure of our city to fit the time in which we're living. In the current situation, such projects are extremely important because they enable citizens to continue doing their jobs, to maintain ties with family and friends and to facilitate their adaptation to the new changes,'' said the Mayor of Labin, Valter Glavicic.

In the municipality of Gracac, Croatian Telecom has installed a total of thirteen access points, at five external and eight internal locations. This enables free WiFi internet access at locations such as the administrative building of the municipality of Gracac, KIC "Napredak" Gracac, the library and reading room and in Nikola Tesla street and Skolska street as well as at the Park of St. George. Thanks to the WiFi4EU programme, locals and visitors will have high-speed Internet access in major centres of public life such as squares, parks, libraries, public buildings and the like.

A place in continental Istria, the municipality of Brtonigla, also expressed their confidence in Croatian Telecom, choosing it as a partner in the implementation of a project that provides free internet access in public areas. Free WiFi signal covers all squares in Brtonigla, the area in front of the Tourist Board, Main street, the park near the church of Sv. Zeno, the area in front of the Aleksandar Rukavina Gallery and the football field, as well as the stands in the sports zone of the settlement. In the settlement of Nova Vas, the main square of and the surrounding areas are covered with free WiFi signal, while in the settlement of Fiorini, two access points have been set up in order to cover almost the entire area with free internet.

"I'm extremely satisfied with the way the WiFi4EU project was realised and the support of Croatian Telecom. Our region, among other activities, is also tourist-oriented throughout the year because, in addition to seasonal summer tourism, cyclo tourism is very popular here in other months and we're open to all forms of further cooperation, especially when it comes to digitalisation and modernisation,'' said Paolo Klaric, Mayor of Brtonigla.

Croatian Telecom is otherwise the largest private investor in digital infrastructure in Croatia which has been continuously investing in the quality and development of mobile and fixed network infrastructure for years.

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As Novac writes on the 1st of September, 2020, with the aim of improving the user experience and providing an even better service, Hrvatski Telekom/Croatian Telecom has opened another new multimedia store on Ibler's Square (Iblerov trg) in Zagreb. Croatian Telecom has thus converted as many as 26 traditional T-Centres into modern stores according to the highest standards.

The T-Centre on Ibler's Square is divided into several functional units and is fully adapted to all users of Croatian Telecom's services. With all of the standard features, members of Generation Z and all those who feel that way can get acquainted with all the services offered by the bonbon brand in the first specialised zone within the T point of sale.

On the smart devices in the bonbon zone, visitors have access to music albums by Billie Eilish, multiple Grammy Award winners and global activists in the field of spreading digital optimism. Ibler's Square's T-Centre is also adorned with a so-called chill zone where users, when surfing the leading network, can try out new functionalities on the smart devices on display there.

Employees and the space of the T-Centre on Ibler's Square are equipped in accordance with all of the current epidemiological recommendations, and environmentally conscious landscaping with the already recognisable green wall in the newly decorated area provides an even more pleasant atmosphere when getting better acquainted with the company's impressively wide portfolio of products.

''Our customers deserve the best service, and its integral part are highly functional modern points of sale, designed and organised in such a way so as to ensure a flawless user experience and offer varied content. Our T-Centre on Ibler's Square is a space that combines technological innovations and all of the benefits of a physical branch and we're proud that it's equipped according to the model of the most modern European multimedia stores. With this opening, we're showing that even in challenging times, we're continuing to invest in our offer and in the provision of an even better service,'' said Maja Zunic of Croatian Telecom.

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As Novac writes on the 3rd of August, 2020, Croatian Telecom/Hrvatski Telekom provided the citizens of Sisak and the residents of the municipalities of both Ražanac and Posedarje with free internet in areas where public gatherings take place. They are part of the cities and municipalities that were awarded a voucher in the amount of 15,000 euros as part of the WiFi4EU initiative, after which they chose Croatian Telecom as the best contractor to provide public free WiFi internet for their citizens.

As part of the WiFi4EU initiative, the European Commission is launching projects co-financing high-quality free internet access for citizens in public places such as parks, squares, public buildings, libraries and museums.

In the area of ​​the city of Sisak, thirteen WiFi connection points have been installed, which have been successfully connected and integrated with the city's telecommunications network and cover the locations of the newly renovated city skating rink ''Zibel'' and the city pool, Caprag, a central summer gathering place for local residents. The project provoked extremely positive reactions from citizens, on which occasion, Mayor Kristina Ikić Baniček stated: "Our goal is to facilitate access to Internet services in public spaces and improve digital connectivity in the city of Sisak."

Access to free public internet was realised at the beginning of summer in well-known tourist destinations in the vicinity of Zadar. In the municipality of Posedarje, free WiFi internet access was launched in early June at several locations including Punta beach, Sveti Duh beach, the building of the Posedarje Tourist Board and the Podvrtline car park. Access points have been set up in the nearby municipality of Ražanac, where there are nine external and two internal access points which work to cover the locations of the Municipality building, the square in front of the Municipality, the National Library, Riva (waterfront) and the Vlaški kraj, Pisak, Pježavac and Puntica beaches.

Due to the specific weather conditions in the local climate, the municipality of Ražanac has invested additional funds of its own that will ensure the functioning of the network throughout the year. "With this project, we've covered the most frequented places in the Ražanac area and we're sure that our locals and their guests will be satisfied. The project team of Croatian Telecom has really done an excellent job and all of our wishes and ambitions have been entirely fulfilled,'' said Nikola Miletić, Mayor of Ražanac.

Otherwise, Croatian Telecom is the largest private investor in the Republic of Croatia, which has been continuously investing in the quality and development of its mobile and fixed network infrastructure for years.

"We're proud that cities and municipalities recognise us as a reliable technological partner, which will provide their citizens with the best experience of using the public and free internet. We're continuing to digitise Croatia by providing access to quality internet to as many citizens as possible, which means investing in the development of optical infrastructure, WiFi access points and the mobile network,'' said Nikola Brebric, manager for the development of ICT business solutions at Croatian Telecom.

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As many as 14,000 households in the area of ​​Velika Gorica near the City of Zagreb will have the possibility of the use of ultra-fast Internet with speeds over 100 Mbit/s, and in the future these speeds will exceed 1 Gbit/s thanks to a large investment from Croatian Telecom.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 29th of July, 2020, Croatian Telecom/Hrvatski Telekom, the largest private investor in the Republic of Croatia, has started implementing the most modern optical infrastructure in the area of ​​Velika Gorica which is situated close to the capital, the move will provide Velika Gorica's citizens with gigabit speeds and the best experience possible when using Croatian Telecom's telecommunications services.

The project worth around 29 million kuna will enable the connection of as many as 14,000 households to ultra-fast Internet with speeds over 100 Mbit/s, and in the future these speeds will exceed 1 Gbit/s. In addition to the superior experience of home internet connection, which is necessary for working from home, holding distance learning and enjoying entertainment such as gaming, the implementation of this project will improve the use of advanced digital products and services such as e-Citizens, e-schools, e -health, e-parking and other projects in the domain of smart cities, and the use of which requires high access speeds.

"Optical networks to households undoubtedly provide the highest quality and fastest access to the Internet and are an integral part of the digitalisation of society, increasing economic competitiveness and quality of life. We're very pleased that Velika Gorica is part of our optical investments, which will provide a large number of citizens with an advanced user experience through the enjoyment of ultra-fast connectivity. This year, in a challenging business environment, Croatian Telecom is continuing with its investment plans, as evidenced by the record 60 percent growth in covering Croatian households with optics, which we plan to realise this year,'' said Croatian Telecom's Boris Drilo.

"Nowadays, modern high-speed communication infrastructure is one of the most important preconditions for economic development and investment attraction, but it's also important in all other spheres of social activity, especially when it comes to education. In the City of Velika Gorica, in recent years we've been continuously working on the improvement of the communication infrastructure, from the development of a broadband internet development plan to the establishment of numerous access points for free wireless internet access. The planned investment from Croatian Telecom in the form of the optical infrastructure in the area of ​​Velika Gorica is the most significant development project of this type so far, which is equally important for economic entities and institutions, as well as for households,'' said the Mayor of Velika Gorica, Drazen Barisic.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 15th of July, 2020, despite the coronavirus crisis, Hrvatski Telekom/Croatian Telecom (HT) is continuing with its numerous planned investments in digital infrastructure - the backbone of development, and now for the recovery of the enfeebled domestic economy.

In addition to boasting the fastest network in Croatia, Croatian Telecom received the Ookla certificate, a globally recognised company which works on testing the speed and quality of mobile networks. Croatian Telecom received the certificate this year for offering the best mobile coverage in the country.

This is the second year in a row that Croatian Telecom has received these awards, based on network testing conducted by users of all mobile networks in Croatia through the Ookla test.

"This is the result of Croatian Telecom's investments in networks, which we're continuing with, as well as other investments in digital infrastructure, because without that, there's no development, nor is there any recovery of the economy. That's why we haven't reduced our investment plans this year, when, in addition to 5G technology, we're also working on further optical connections for Croatia,'' Boris Drilo told Hina.

Referring to the coronavirus crisis, he said that telecommunication networks must enable higher capacities, and that users also expect quality content and a higher speed of Internet access.

As he said, through the modernisation of the mobile network, Croatian Telecom has tripled its capacities and enabled 4G everywhere, and there is now a lot of readiness for 5G as well.

He added that the new 17 base stations in Novi Zagreb are more or less the result of investments in the network, and that, as he revealed, "they applied one software functionality for the first time in Croatia and enabled 5G in the 4G frequency band".

Boris Drilo pointed out that the certificate they recently earned yet again confirms the quality of the user experience.

"This is a confirmation that Croatian Telecom's mobile network has the best coverage for mobile internet in Croatia, and that we definitely have to lean more towards gigabit technologies, the importance of which has also been shown in the coronavirus crisis. It's important to state that not only the speed but also the level of coverage are important for 5G, so that in any part of Croatia everyone can use, for example, sensors for devices that can network and 'communicate' with some artificial intelligence systems for surveillance, various apps, autonomous vehicles and other things for which a fast network response is very important,'' explained Drilo.

In order to determine who provides the best mobile network speeds, Ookla compared the results of more than 186,000 user tests conducted on their Speedtest iOS and Android mobile applications with all major mobile operators in Croatia during the first and second quarters of 2020.

According to the company, Croatian Telecom achieved significantly better results in mobile download and upload speeds than any other mobile operator in Croatia, achieving a so-called a speed score of 70.71 Mbit/s, with an average speed of 86.05 Mbit/s for downloads, and 17.43 Mbit/s for data loading.

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As Bernard Ivezic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 24th of June, 2020, Croatian Telecom (Hrvatski Telekom) has contracted four years of exclusivity with Ericsson Nikola Tesla to build its future 5G network.

Currently, not all of the preconditions have been created for construction, not only in the form of permits but also free frequencies and the spread of devices that could support the new network. Alas, construction is expected to begin next year, when telecommunications regulator Hakom has announced a tender for 5G.

The value of the contract has not yet been announced. Kostas Nebis, President of the Management Board of Croatian Telecom, has emphasised that this is the first 5G contract in the Republic of Croatia and that Ericsson NT has become the exclusive supplier of the radio part of the mobile network until the year 2024.

"Cooperation with ENT is the latest example of our support to the economy and society, by which we're continuing to invest in the network and we're connecting everything in Croatia with the possibilities of digitalisation," said Nebis.

He added that they are continuing their cooperation on the modernisation of the radio part of the network. In the last two years, Croatian Telecom has directed the whole part towards the introduction of the 5G standard. In addition to the modernisation of the mobile network, they have worked on pilot projects for 5G in the frequency band 3.5GHz to 100 MHz on Krk, Samobor and in the City of Zagreb.

As part of the pilot project, the operator achieved data transfer speeds of 1Gbps in downloading data from the network and 58.2 Mbps in sending data to the network. Boris Drilo of Croatian Telecom stated back in February this year that their mobile infrastructure is now fully modernised and ready for the implementation of 5G.

Gordana Kovacevic, President of the Management Board of Ericsson NT, says that she is extremely pleased that after the first demonstration of 5G technology two years ago, they have now finalised it all by signing the first 5G contract here in Croatia.

"Ericsson has so far launched forty 5G networks on four continents, and I'm proud that as many as 1,500 of our 3,200 employees in Croatia are making a significant contribution to the development of new 5G network functionality within Ericsson's global R&D community," concluded Kovacevic.

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Croatian Telecom/Hrvatski Telekom was the first in the Republic of Croatia to demonstrate revolutionary 5G technology in the existing 4G frequency spectrum.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 6th of June, 2020, recently in Samobor, Croatian Telecom tested out the technology that enabled fast coverage with 5G services in larger areas. It is a technology which deals with dynamic spectrum sharing, or DSS, the application of which is crucial for the rapid implementation of 5G technology.

In the area of ​​Samobor, Croatin Telecom enabled 5G technology on ten base stations in the 2.1 GHz frequency band with five base stations in the 3.5 GHz band, which enabled the largest 5G area in terms of speed and coverage in all of Croatia.

The application of DSS technology enables the current use of existing frequencies for 5G, and reduces the need for new base stations and locations with specific 5G frequencies. The application of 5G technology is crucial for connecting a large number of sensors, industrial devices, drones and autonomous vehicles, where the reliability of the connection is even more important than the data transfer speed, which can only be guaranteed by a quality radio signal using frequencies in the so-called middle band - 1.8-2.1 GHz. A commercially available Samsung S20 5G terminal was used to test the 5G functionality.

"By applying dynamic spectrum sharing technology, we tested out the largest 5G coverage area by combining 5G technology in separate (3.5 GHz) and shared 4G/5G spectrums (2.1 GHz) and thus made the biggest step forward in the development of 5G technology in Croatia, and once again proved that we have a leading network in Croatia,'' pointed out Boris Drilo of Croatian Telecom.

The simple and rapid implementation of dynamic spectrum sharing technology, which allows existing frequency resources to be dynamically shared between both 4G and 5G technology, is possible thanks to the recently completed modernisation of Croatian Telecom's entire mobile network. The project, which lasted more than two years, represents the largest private infrastructure investment in Croatia in 2019.

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The coronavirus crisis has seen many a Croatian company provide generous donations to various hospitals and other health institutions up and down the country. From INA to HS Produkt, the desire for hospitals fighting the virus head on to have the proper equipment to do so has brought out the best in many companies wanting to help procure respirators and other items. Croatian Telecom is yet another.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 15th of April, 2020, Croatian Telecom (Hrvatski Telekom) has generously donated a massive four million kuna to the ''Dr. Fran Mihaljevic'' Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Zagreb to help them in the ongoing and difficult fight against the spread of the new coronavirus, the company stated on Wednesday.

''With this donation to the ''Dr. Fran Mihaljevic'' Clinic for Infectious Diseases, whose experts have been working on the suppression of the [coronavirus] epidemic since the very first appearance of the coronavirus in the Republic of Croatia, we wanted to contribute and support their further efforts,'' read a statement on the donation provided by Croatian Telecom.

''Every day, we're witnessing the heroic deeds of doctors, nurses, medical professionals and everyone who works tirelessly for the common good during these difficult circumstances. With this donation, we'd like to contribute to the [efforts of] the ''Dr. Fran Mihaljevic'' Clinic for Infectious Diseases, which was chosen because it is an institution that has been on the front line of defense since day one and, and we're all indebted to its engagement,'' said the Chairman of the Board of Croatian Telecom, Kostas Nebis.

The now very well known and widely celebrated director the ''Dr. Fran Mihaljevic'' Clinic for Infectious Diseases, Alemka Markotic, said on the occasion that this generous donation would provide for even better conditions for the treatment of patients in the phase of the most intense fight against the spread of COVID-19.

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Croatian Telecom (HT) have managed to expand their business in the Eastern Croatian city of Osijek owing to the previously announced introduction of a 5G network in the city.

There has been a lot of talk about the introduction of 5G in Croatia. With rumour recently being confirmed about the continental Croatian city of Osijek becoming the first Croatian 5G city, the new technological step forward has attracted as much criticism as it has praise.

From arguments about potential health issues arising to praise about how 5G's introduction will only help Osijek's encouraging IT and tech community to grow and develop, thus encouraging economic stimulation and the creation of more jobs, discussions on the issue have been relentless.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Bernard Ivezic writes on the 17th of February, 2020, the City of Osijek is home to one of four Croatian Telecom call centres, and with other operations in the city, this huge operator employs more than 500 workers.

Croatian Telecom has, in a more than encouraging sign of things to come, opened another, brand new call centre in Osijek which employs more than 400 workers.

The new Croatian Telecom business premises in the often overlooked Slavonian city, which the operator decided to invest in after increasing its call centre staff in Osijek by as many as 166 at the end of last year, were opened on Friday by members of the company's management board, Natasa Rapaić and Ivan Bartulović.

The expansion of Croatian Telecom's Osijek-based business is, as previously stated, part of the operator's preparations for the city's introduction of the 5G network.

Many asked why Osijek was chosen to be the first Croatian 5G city, as it is rare that any sort of economic good news comes from that region of Croatia. Unbeknown to some, Osijek has a thriving IT and tech community, and it's more than likely that the introduction of 5G will spur that on.

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ZAGREB, February 14, 2020 - A new Croatian Telecom (HT) call centre opened on Friday in Osijek, with the company investing around 2.5 million kuna in the centre, and employing 100 people.

The new call centre, provided with state-of-the-art IT equipment, offers services exclusively to private users of HT fixed-line and mobile phone networks.

Ivan Bartulović, a member of the Croatian Telecom HR management, said that the company employed around 500 people in Osijek, with 400 of them working in call centres. Last year alone, 116 new employees were hired, and around 100 of them in the new call centre, he added.

He emphasised that the company was investing in this part of Croatia, where it wanted to leave its mark, as a part of the Osijek as a 5G city project, in which the HT is taking part by building infrastructure and making numerous other investments, and which should provide for new employment possibilities.

"With all of this we are achieving HT's purpose, and that is to secure connections, the Internet, and equal opportunities in all parts of Croatia, whether they are small or large communities," stated Bartulović.

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