In addition to individual telecom operators, the testing also ranked individual countries, taking into account all mobile service providers. In that ranking of 28 countries, Croatia ranked 12th, leaving behind countries such as Germany, Great Britain, France, Poland, Italy, Ireland, Spain, and others.

The evaluation was carried out on millions of samples collected through crowdsourcing from smartphone users over a 24-week period from October 14 to March 29, 2020, without notice to operators *. besT mobile network in Croatia

“As the best rated mobile network in our country and alongside the best in Europe, the testing of umlaut and Connect once again confirmed the quality and reliability of the A1 network , exactly one year after the P3 measurement which showed that the A1 mobile and fixed network the best in Croatia. Both awards confirm the efforts we are making to maintain network quality and customer satisfaction, providing continuity of key telecommunications services in this crisis situation, especially support for critical national infrastructure such as health and education systems and other public services, “said Tomislav Makar, Chief Technical Director A1 Croatia.

The mentioned testing also included the crisis period of the coronavirus pandemic, which strongly influenced the change in the life habits of users in Croatia. How they affected the use of telecommunications services is shown by data from March this year. With the introduction of isolation measures in March, the use of all telecommunications services rose sharply. Calls on the mobile network grew by 60 percent , especially on the day of the earthquake by as much as 240 percent, and the number of calls in the landline grew by 100 percent. Mobile data transmission increased by 50 percent and fixed internet use by 50 percent. The ratings of HRT3 and SPTV channels, through which distance learning took place, increased by as much as 400 percent. In addition to users using A1 services more for educational and teleworking purposes, the demand for entertainment grew, so popular streaming services such as YouTube, Netflix and Facebook video were used on average 100 percent more in March than in February.

New trends in user habits are also reflected in the use of A1 digital channels, which proved to be an ideal solution during the temporary closure of branches. In the A1 virtual shop, sales growth has increased by more than three times , and the number of transactions on the A1 web is growing equally . From April 1, the virtual shop is also available to users through the My A1 application, which records twice as many transactions during the crisis through the self-care part of the application. The amount of inquiries on social networks grew by 200 percent, while contact by e-mail grew by 40 percent . Completely new digital processes have been designed for solving various queries, which until now could only be solved in A1 branches.

 “The rapid adaptation of our company to the new circumstances can be attributed primarily to the digital transformationbusiness of A1 Croatia, which we, as its leaders in Croatia, started more than three years ago. The digital transformation has proven to be crucial in responding to all the challenges of doing business in this crisis, which has been best dealt with by companies that have transformed from a traditional to an agile way of doing business in time. Thanks to this, we have maintained the stability and security of jobs, as well as all material rights of employees, and we will pay an additional bonus to employees who have made an exceptional contribution to their work in these extraordinary circumstances. We’ve learned a lot in the last few weeks. Teleworking is productive through daily short meetings and digital tools, but it lacks the social component we have at work that encourages creativity and innovation. It is certain that our ‘new normal‘ Ivan Skender, General Manager for Business Transformation, Human Resources and Corporate Communications A1 Croatia.

A1 Croatia has thus exempted certain categories of employees who do not have the opportunity to work from home and for whom there is a higher risk of infection from work obligations with 100% salary compensation until further notice, and special attention is paid to individual parents’ needs for flexibility. To make it easier for parents to work from home with their children, a virtual storytelling was organized every week, and a digital guide to activities for children and parents was published. besT mobile network in Croatia

In order to increase employee satisfaction and productivity and create a healthy work environment, the Mind Wellness program for managers and employees was launched, and due to reduced physical activity, a fitness program was launched on the internal Workplace platform. Also, virtual gatherings called #StayConnected Talks are organized, where other companies from Croatia gather and talk and share knowledge gained in extraordinary working circumstances.