Press release
Tele2 Group
Nov 15 2001, 8:31 AM CET
TELE2 AB ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH THE POST OFFICE TO LAUNCH FIXED LINE TELEPHONY SERVICES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
New York and Stockholm - November 15, 2001 - Tele2 AB, ("Tele2", "the Group") (Nasdaq Stock Market: TLTOA and TLTOB and Stockholmsbörsen: TEL2A and TEL2B), the leading alternative pan-European telecommunications company, is pleased to announce an agreement with the UK Post Office to launch fixed line telephony services in the UK from Monday 19 November.
The Post Office has chosen Tele2 as its long-term partner for telephony services following the successful launch of The Post Office's new calling cards on 15 October 2001, also in conjunction with Tele2. This partnership with Tele2 is The Post Office's first telephony offering since BT was divested from the Post Office in the 1981. Tele2 will provide the telecommunications expertise and infrastructure and The Post Office the branding and distribution network.
The Post Office is the UK's premier distribution network with 18,000 branches nationwide. Nine out of ten people live within one mile of a Post Office branch and 28 million people visit a branch each week.
This new 'pay as you go' home phone service offered by The Post Office and Tele2 will be positioned as a low cost offering for national long distance, international and fixed to mobile calling, bringing customers substantial savings. The service will be pre-paid so that customers will top up their credit balance direct from their Post Office or by standing order or credit card. The initial offer will include an i-hear phone with a pre-select facility. Tele2 has successfully used this format for marketing fixed line telephony in France, Germany and other European countries.
Lars-Johan Jarnheimer, CEO of Tele2 AB said: " We are very pleased to announce this long term partnership with The Post Office as it provides us with a very strong platform from which to attack the UK market. The UK is the only major European country where Tele2 does not offer fixed line services and we believe that this partnership is a winning combination bringing together Tele2's telecoms experience and expertise in tandem with The Post Office's unrivalled distribution network."
Tele2 AB, formed in 1993, is the leading alternative pan-European telecommunications company offering fixed and mobile telephony, data network and Internet services under the brands Tele2, Tango and Comviq to 13.7 million people in 21 countries. Tele2 operates Datametrix, which specializes in systems integration, 3C Communications, operating public pay telephones and public Internet services; Transac, providing billing and transaction processing service; C³, offering co-branded pre-paid calling cards and IntelliNet and Optimal Telecom, the price-guaranteed residential router device. The Group offers cable television services under the Kabelvision brand name and together with MTG, owns the Internet portal Everyday.com. The Company is listed on the Stockholmsbörsen, under TEL2A and TEL2B, and on the Nasdaq Stock Market under TLTOA and TLTOB.
CONTACTS:
Tele2 AB
Lars-Johan Jarnheimer Telephone: + 46 8 562 640 00
President and CEO, Tele2 AB
Andrew Best, Investor Relatons, London Telephone: +44 7798 576378
Patrik Linzenbold, Media Relations, Stockholm Telephone: +46 8 562 000 53
The Post Office
The Consignia Press Office Telephone: +44 207 250 2468
The Consignia Press Office Telephone: +44 207 250 2468
Visit our web site at www.tele2.com