This weekend Lithuania celebrated 90th anniversary of radio broadcasting in the country.
The first radio sounds on 12 June 1926 in Kaunas marked the commencement of operation of the oldest Lithuanian telecommunications company JSC Lithuanian Radio and Television Centre (Telecentre) and the beginning of the country’s telecommunications sector. The company was among the first to offer exclusive technological novelties for Lithuania: 90 years ago the company transmitted the first radio programme, nearly 60 years ago – the first TV programme, in 2001 the company was among the first to supply Internet services based on wireless WiFi technologies, in 2006 the company was the second in Europe to use the new TV compression standard, and in 2009 the company was the first in the Central Europe to offer Internet based on the fourth generation (4G) mobile communication technology.
According to Remigijus Šeris, CEO at Telecentre, rapid development of technologies and strong competition in the market necessitate companies’ improvement and constant searching for newer and more effective solutions to satisfy growing needs of customers. “Last decades were particularly active in the telecommunications sector: change of technologies and rapid growth of customer expectations towards the services and products they receive. Where earlier technological progress was measured by decades, now it is measured by years. Downlink, quality of communication and data amount are the criteria currently essential for telecommunications sector customers. Nowadays customers download more than 100 GB Internet data per month, whereas radio and television also maintain their popularity and keep developing. Naturally, customer needs encourage companies to keep on operating actively and be in constant development“, says Remigijus Šeris, CEO at Telecentre.
Data of the research company TNS reveals that 71% of Lithuanian population (12-74) listen to the radio every day and 95% of the population watch TV every day. Currently 309 radio stations broadcast in Lithuania and 204 of the stations are located in Telecentre sites. In addition, Telecentre manages a complex infrastructure for installation and exploitation of terrestrial TV networks. Three out of five digital terrestrial TV networks in Lithuania belong to Telecentre. The newest digital terrestrial high-definition (HD) TV network installed by the company was launched on 3rd of June this year and is dedicated for the national broadcaster LRT. In the sphere of data transmission and Internet Telecentre provides a service of unlimited data and Internet based on wireless WiFi and 4G LTE technologies. The company intends to install more than 450 new generation 4G LTE mobile communication base stations during this year and to have 1100 4G base stations by the end of the year.
The company’s 90 years’ experience and activity in the telecommunications sector has proved that a Lithuanian capital company – Telecentre – can successfully compete with foreign capital companies and encourage competition in the country’s telecommunications market. “We can be proud that notwithstanding rapid globalization processes the market is grown and developed by local players of the telecommunications sector. Fair competition determines implementation of innovations in the country and better satisfaction of customer needs. A stronger competitive fight is beneficial for customers who have an ample opportunity to evaluate the services supplied and their value for money. We are glad that the latter opportunity allows customers to find our company anew“, says Remigijus Šeris.
