Press release 3.9.2007: Sonera brings wireless broadband within the reach of all people in Finland over Digita’s @450 network
TeliaSonera Finland Oyj and Digita Oy have signed an agreement on the provision of broadband services in Digita’s @450 broadband network. The pilot period started earlier in June–August will result in a commercial launch in December 2007. Owing to the agreement, it will be possible to provide nearly all people in Finland with broadband services by means of new, cost-effective wireless technology.
The agreement now concluded aims at seamless cooperation between the network operator and the service provider to provide customers with the services they need. “This is a major improvement for the people in Finland who have been beyond the reach of the broadband services offered in the fixed network. Thanks to the agreement, the Finnish information society will soon also extend to summerhouses, rural areas, the archipelago and other low population areas,” says Juha-Pekka Weckström, Senior Vice President of TeliaSonera Broadband Services Finland.
Satisfied pilot users
Sonera is very happy with the three-month test period of service operation, which was implemented in June–August 2007. The tests carried out during the summer had to do with the coverage and reliability of the network and the introduction and functioning of the terminal equipment. During the pilot period, it was also agreed that the network’s coverage area would first be expanded to areas where it is too expensive to build a fixed network due to a low number of users. “In the countryside, setting up a @450 base station is much more inexpensive than laying a copper cable, and in future we will also be able to provide voice services through the base station at affordable prices,” says Juha-Pekka Weckström.
Digita expands the network and sets up more base stations throughout the country
Digita’s wireless @450 broadband network, opened at the beginning of April, now covers broad areas in Southern Finland and areas from Oulu to Ivalo. Digita is expanding the network at a rapid pace, and the goal is that the network would have nationwide coverable by the end of 2009.
”For Digita, the agreement with TeliaSonera is a major step towards meeting the high demand for wireless @450 broadband. Our goal is that Finland would be the first country in the world with a wireless broadband network across the whole country. When the network is in place, the people in Finland – both consumers and companies – will have a genuinely wireless broadband network at their disposal,” says Vice President Juha Malmberg from Digita Oy.
TeliaSonera is the leading telecommunications company in the Nordic and Baltic region, with strong positions within mobile communications in Eurasia, Turkey and Russia. At the end of 2006, TeliaSonera launched mobile services in Spain. We provide reliable, innovative and easy-to-use services for transferring and packaging voice, images, data, information, transactions and entertainment. In 2006, TeliaSonera’s net sales amounted to SEK 91 billion, and at the end of March 2007 the total number of customers exceeded 100 million in 15 countries. The TeliaSonera share is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and the Helsinki Stock Exchange, and the company is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Simplicity and service are important tools for us in creating profitable growth and value for our customers and shareholders. Read more at www.teliasonera.com.
Digita Oy is the leading Finnish distributor of radio and television services, and an important developer of data communication networks and network infrastructure. Digita’s nationwide organisation ensures the high quality of services 24 hours a day. Digita’s customers include television and radio broadcasting companies, as well as mobile and broadband operators. In 2005, its net sales amounted to €97 million. The company employs 380 people. Digita is part of the international TDF Group.