Tele2: История и развитие телекоммуникационной компании

Multinational telecommunications company

Tele2 AB is a provider of mobile and fixed connectivity, telephony, data network services, TV, streaming and global Internet of Things services, amongst others, to consumers and enterprises. It is headquartered in Kista Science City, Stockholm, Sweden. It is a major mobile network operator in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The company initially founded Tele2 Russia, but later sold all its operations, only leasing the use of its brand name. Tele2 started as a telecommunications company in Sweden in 1993 by the company Investment AB Kinnevik. It previously operated in many other markets, but the company has since divested its licenses, sold to other operators or to management buy outs in those markets.

Tele2 started in 1981 as a mobile phone provider called Comvik as an alternative mobile phone operator to the state owned company Televerket (today known as Telia Company). The cable television provider Kabelvision AB started in 1986. Comvik later changed its name to become Comviq when the company got a GSM license in 1988 and started operating in 1992. In 1991, Sweden's first commercial ISP was started with the Swedish IP Network (Swipnet (sv), AS1257) by Investment AB Kinnevik, later renamed as Tele2, and in 1993 with telephone liberalization in Sweden, Tele2 started to offer international calls. The three companies Comviq, Kabelvision, and Tele2 came together as the Tele2 brand on fixed line services and Comviq on mobile services in Sweden in 1997. The Swipnet branding was phased out in 2014. International growth came in the form of acquisitions in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, and France. In June 2016 Tele2 acquired the B2B services provider TDC Sweden AB from Danish TDC Group. In November 2018, Tele2 was merged with telecom operator Com Hem, which delivered, among other things, TV, broadband and telephony. At the beginning of 2020, the streaming service Comhem Play+ was launched available to those who are not a customer at Com Hem and changed name to Tele2 Play in January 2022. The same week, the new digital operator Penny was also launched. In June 2008 Tele2 sold its Liechtenstein and Luxembourg holdings to Belgian operator Belgacom. The same month Tele2 sold its Polish operations to Netia. Tele2 reportedly attempted to sell its German unit as well in 2007, eventually the sale came through a management buyout in 2020. The newly formed company trades as STROTH Telecom GmbH. In 2005 they sold their UK & Ireland fixed operations to Carphone Warehouse for £8.7m. They also pulled out of the Finnish market stating problems with the competitive and regulatory environment after the Finnish government had previously cancelled their 3G licence, due to not completing a network in time. The company terminated operations in Russia in 2013. In 2021 the company sold its stake in T Mobile Netherlands.

Tele2 operated in Austria from 1999 to 2007 and does not operate there now. The Tele2 operations started as an alternative fixed line telephone operator. ADSL internet services were introduced in 2003. One Year later, Tele2 Austria bought UTA Telekom AG, a former competitor, and became the largest provider for alternative telecommunication service in Austria. In addition to fixed line services, Tele2 Austria used their infrastructure for carrier services. In the first quarter of 2013, Tele2 Austria had an EBITDA of 38,2 million euros, a rise of 6 percent. In a brief press statement on 11 November 2014, the Sweden based telecoms group has confirmed that it plans to re enter the Austrian mobile sector in the second half of 2015. In March 2008 Tele2 divested its Austrian MVNO operations to Telekom Austria, although retaining its fixed line and internet services until the latter two services were sold in 2017 (28.7.2017) to Hutchison Drei Austria, the third largest mobile operator in Austria.

Tele2 operated in Croatia from 2005 to 2019 and does not operate there now. In Croatia, Tele2 operated a 3G network at 42.2 Mbit/s, same as competitors but at a much wider area, nearly every area covered in standard 3G has access to this 3.75G technology. It also operated a 4G network at up to 150 Mbit/s. According to Tele2 Croatia, their 4G network covers 90% of Croatia's population, while their 3G network covers 99% of Croatia's population. In April 2017 Tele2 became the first and as of July 2017 the only mobile operator to offer unlimited flat rate broadband access without throttling (for voice customers) and partial throttling (for mobile broadband users). In July 2019 it was sold for 220 million euros to United Group.

In May of 2007 Telenor announced that the company would be acquiring Tele2 Denmark for DKK 835 million. Tele2 had been operating in Denmark since 1996.

Tele2 is operating a HSPA enabled 3G network in the 900 MHz and 2100 MHz bands as well as a 2G GSM network in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands in Estonia. Tele2 commercially launched its 4G LTE network in the 1800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands in November 2012. The 800 MHz LTE band was added in May 2014 and 2100 MHz in July 2015. Tele2 claimed an LTE population coverage of 90% in September 2015. In 2022, Tele2 acquired spectrum in the 3410 3800 MHz frequency band as part of a license to provide 5G [SM1] services. Tele2 commenced offering 5G services in Tallinn in 2022[SM2]
In early 2012, Tele2 acquired Televõrgu AS which operated a CDMA2000 1xEV DO Rev. A network in the 450 MHz band under the 'Kõu' brand name. This network was shut down in January 2016.

Tele2 operated in France from 1999 to 2009 and does not operate there now. Tele2 used to operate a 2G MVNO in France using Orange network for coverage and joined Virgin Mobile in 2009. They also used to operate alternative fixed line & internet services which they sold to Vivendi unit SFR for €350 million in 2007.

Tele2 exited the German market in 2020 and does not operate there now. Tele2 provided fixed broadband via ADSL as well as fixed telephony. In July 2013, Tele2 launched mobile voice plans on the E Plus (now O2 Germany) network. In December 2020 the unit was sold by a Management buyout with the Trademark Tele2 for Germany. The new company continues to use the old brand as "Tele2 Deutschland".

Tele2 operated in Italy from 1999 to 2007 and does not operate there now. It requested liberalization from Telecom Italia, i. e. unbundling, recognized only by Infostrada and FASTWEB. In 2005 it began to offer ADSL in large cities including Milan and Rome in unbundling, and then quickly extended the service to numerous other areas of Italy. Since 2006 it has offered its customers the opportunity to detach themselves from Telecom Italia. In 2007 it added a P2P traffic filtering function to its ADSL service. The same year the company was acquired by Vodafone in 2007. No longer being linked to Tele2, in 2010 "Tele2 Italia" changed its name into "TeleTu".

Tele2 entered the Latvian market in 2000 and operates as one of the largest nationwide Mobile Network Operator in Latvia, including 5G services in the .5 GHz, 1.5 GHz and 700 MHz bands.

Tele2 operates a nationwide mobile network in Lithuania, including 5G services in the 700 MHz and 3.5 GHz bands. Tele2 Lithuania is the only telecommunications operator across Europe and Americas to rocket from the last position to the market leader. Tele2 ensure that all its customers can use high quality 4G network coverage across 99% of Lithuania and was named the Most Transparent Company in Lithuania according to "Transparency International Lithuania". Tele2 Lithuania CEO Petras Masiulis was awarded the CEO of the Year 2017 Lithuania. Tele2 was awarded 2x10 MHz in the 800 MHz band which together with its previous 2.6 GHz license will enable Tele2 to cost efficiently build a high capacity LTE network with national coverage. Tele2 paid €161M for its licenses which can be considered low, compared to the €1.3bn that KPN and Vodafone paid each for their frequencies and the €900M that T Mobile will have to pay for theirs. The considerably lower price was a result of spectrum reservation set by the government for a new mobile entrant, with favourable acquisition, Tele2 will enable lower prices for customers and increase competition on the Dutch market. €3.8bn was raised in the auction, which is unprecedented for a country with a population of a mere 16 million. In 2015, the organisation launched a new mobile network. The scheme cost approximately $187 million and had been in development since 2014. In 2019, Tele2 Netherlands merged with T Mobile Netherlands. As part of the purchase, Tele2 AB acquired a 25% share in T Mobile Netherlands. Tele2 sold its share in T Mobile Netherlands in 2022. In September 2023, T Mobile and Tele2 have been rebranded to Odido.

Tele2 exited the Norwegian market in 2015 and does not operate there now. Tele2 Norway consisted of the brands Tele2, OneCall, MyCall and Network Norway. On 7 July 2014, it was announced that Tele2 would be acquired by Telia Company. On 5 February 2015, the deal was approved by Norwegian competition authorities.

Sweden is where Tele2 originates from and it remains one of its strongest markets serving over 4 million customers. When the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority awarded four licenses for the 3G UMTS mobile networks in December 2001, Tele2 was among the winners. Notably Telia, the former telephony incumbent in Sweden, did not receive a license and so an agreement was established to build a 3G network shared by Tele2 and Telia using Tele2's license. SUNAB builds, owns and operates that 3G network. A similar company, Net4Mobility, was formed in 2009 between Tele2 and Telenor Sverige for the purpose of building a joint 4G LTE network. Unlike 3G, both said companies were awarded frequency licenses and so it is likely that this network will outperform other Swedish operators networks simply because there are more available frequencies for the customers. The 4G product was officially launched on 15 November 2010 and in 2023, Tele2's 4G network today covers 99.9% of the Swedish population. As the equipment used by Net4Mobility can serve both LTE and 2G, the new network built primarily for LTE will also replace the aging 2G networks of Tele2 and Telenor, providing lower cost through shared infrastructure. In addition, it enables EDGE, a service previously not available via Tele2. On 24 May 2020, Tele2 became the first mobile network operator in Sweden to commercially launch a 5G NR network, initially in the Stockholm area and from the end of 2023, it is expected 90% of Sweden's population will have access to 5G networks.

Tele2 operated in The United Kingdom from 2003 to 2005 and does not operate there now. In a Court of Appeal case with a judgment published on 21 January 2009, companies in the Tele2 group were successful in a claim for damages against Post Office Ltd. for wrongful termination of a contract concerning the sale and promotion of telephone cards. The Post Office had grounds to terminate the contract at the start of 2004 because of the failure of the Tele2 companies to provide a parent company document due at the end of 2003. The Post Office had grounds to terminate the contract at the start of 2004 because of the failure of the Tele2 companies to provide a parent company document due at the end of 2003. The Post Office continued to fulfil its obligations under the contract until they sought to terminate it in December 2004, some 11 months after the breach. The Appeal Court held that the waiver clause in the contract, which stated that
In no event shall any delay, neglect or forbearance on the part of any party in enforcing (in whole or in part) any provision of this Agreement be or be deemed to be a waiver thereof or a waiver of any other provision or shall in any way prejudice any right of that party under this Agreement could not be relied upon where the party entitled to enforce the term had not merely delayed action but had positively "elected" to continue to fulfil its contractual obligations, as evidenced by its behaviour. In 2005 Tele2 sold their UK & Ireland fixed operations to Carphone Warehouse for £8.7m.

Tele2 operated in Kazakhstan from 2005 to 2018 and does not operate there now. 51% of Mobile Telecom Service LLP was purchased by Tele2 in early 2010 to serve as a base for the company's mobile services in Kazakhstan. Tele2 has an option to buy the remaining 49% of Mobile Telecom Service LLP within 5 years after the contract was closed. Tele2 is the smallest of three mobile operators in Kazakhstan with about 4.3 million customers. In December 2018 Tele2 ended operations, leaving Beeline to be the only government independent carrier.

Tele2 started the operations in the Russian Federation by acquiring 12 regional mobile operators from its sister company Millicom in 2001. In 2013 Tele2 sold their Russian operations to the bank VTB for US$2–4 billion plus $1.15 billion in net debt. Since February 2020, the company is 100% owned by Rostelecom. and Italy, Tele2 was criticised for using the practice of telephone slamming (changing consumer's residential phone line over to a new provider without their consent). In Italy the company was also criticised for blocking P2P traffic without warning its consumers. The company was also criticised for faking a meteorite landing in Latvia in October 2009, as a result of which the Latvian government cancelled its contract with Tele2. It was investigated for competition and acquisition irregularities in Lithuania, as well as losing its case brought by its Lithuanian competitor through the competition watchdog over LTE ad speed claims. BITE, its fastest growing Lithuanian competitor won its case through the competition authority. It has also been fined and criticised by The Competition Council over misleading advertising. It has grown a reputation for aggressive market practice and has been involved in court cases and legal criticisms in several other countries, including Poland. Tele2 pulled out of the Finnish market stating problems with the competitive and regulatory environment after the Finnish government had previously cancelled their 3G licence.