Telekom Austria Group to bring Windows Phone 7 handsets to Austria, Belarus, Slovenia and other CEE markets

We know many European readers outside of the Big 5 are anxious about whether Windows Phone 7 handsets will make it to their country.

A recent announcement by The Telekom Austria Group  should help put some of them at ease.

The Telekom Austria Group have announced that it will be bringing Windows Phone 7 handsets to all of its CEE markets before the start of the holiday season.

Handsets will hit shelves in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, the Republics of Serbia and Macedonia, with  Belarus following suit as soon as the WP7  will be able to support  using Cyrillic characters.

Hannes Ametsreiter, CEO Telekom Austria Group, said:” We are thrilled that not only A1 Telekom Austria in our domestic market but, except for Belarus, all of our operations across the CEE countries of Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Macedonia as well as Liechtenstein will be able to join the Windows Phone 7 bandwagon in the very first round. This is in line with our group strategy, which aims at capitalizing on our innovation and technology leadership and leveraging our first mover advantages, while sharing best-practices within all our subsidiaries and transferring our know-how within our footprint.”

Alfredo Patron, Head of Microsoft’s mobile business in the EMEA countries, added: “Microsoft is delighted to partner with the Telekom Austria Group and support the launch of the first Windows Phone 7 devices across its CEE markets following the world’s premier debut.”

The following WP7 smart phones will be offered throughout Telekom Austria Group’s CEE operations:

A1 Telekom Austria:
HTC 7 Trophy, HTC 7 HD, Samsung Omnia 7

Mobiltel Bulgaria:
LG Atlantic

Vip net Croatia:
HTC 7 Trophy, Dell Venue Pro, Samsung Omnia 7

Si.mobil Slovenia:
Dell Venue Pro, Samsung Omnia 7

Vip mobile Serbia:
LG Atlantic, HTC 7 Trophy

Vip operator Macedonia:
LG Atlantic

mobilkom Liechtenstein:
Samsung Omnia 7

Unfortunately the Zune music service will not be available in these markets, with music and media only being available via side loading.

Read more at TelekomAustria’s press release here.

Thanks Dominik for the tip.