Tele2

Tele2 AB is Europe s biggest alternative telecommunications operator with over 28 million customers in 24 countries. It serves as a fixed-line telephone operator, cable television provider, mobile phone operator, internet service provider and a content provider.

Tele2 started as a telecommunications company in Sweden in the late 1970s by the company Industriförvaltnings AB Kinnevik. In 1981, a mobile phone provider called Comvik started as an alternative mobile phone operator to Telia. The cable television provider Kabelvision AB started in 1986. Comvik changed it name to became Comviq when the company got a GSM licence in 1988 and started operating in 1992.

In 1991, Industriförvaltnings AB Kinnevik started Tele2 as Sweden s first ISP and in 1997 with telephone liberalisation in Sweden, Tele2 started to offer international calls. The three companies of Comviq, Kabelvision, and Tele2 came together as the Tele2 brand on fixed-line services and Comviq on mobile services in Sweden in 1997. International growth came in the form of acquisitions in Estonia, Latvia, Russia & France. Today it serves as a major telephone company in the Nordic and Baltic nations, together as a alternative provider in many others.

Tele2 operates in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Germany, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein & Belgium.

Its most recent developments has been the broadcast and Internet television company Tango TV (T.TV) in Luxembourg, and 2G and 3G mobile operations in Croatia, which are scheduled for autumn 2005 for 2G and spring 2006 for 3G.

= External Links =

*[http://www.tele2.com/pages/StartPage.aspxid=77 Tele2 s home page] *[http://www.tele2.co.uk/ Tele2 UK] *[http://www.tele2.ie Tele2 Ireland]