Press Releases

Telenor and Sun Microsystems in partnership: On-line to develop mobile Internet solutions

“The partnership with Sun has great potential if we succeed with the first common solutions for mobile Internet,” explains Stig M. Herbern, Managing Director of Telenor Mobil. He emphasises that the partnership with the Sun-Netscape Alliance is based on its reputation and leading-edge skills in the Internet and Internet products. “For its part, Sun has [...]

Tormod Hermansen reinstalled as CEO of Telenor

The board of Telenor AS has reinstalled Mr. Tormod Hermansen as the companys Chief Executive Officer from 1 January 2000. Hermansen is now formally CEO of Newtel AB - the Telenor/Telia merged company which is to be dissolved following the decision to end the merger.

Tormod Hermansen, CEO Telenor/Telia:

"I strongly regret that it was not possible to carry out a successful merger between Telenor and Telia. In the current situation, it was the right thing for the Government to reverse the decision," says Telenor/Telias CEO Tormod Hermansen.

Telenor/Telia sells Telia Norge to Enitel for NOK 2,000 million

Telenor/Telia have entered into an agreement to sell the Norwegian subsidiary Telia Norge AS to Enitel. Total selling price is NOK 2,000 million. Through the sale, Telenor/Telia will make a profit of c. NOK 1,400 million.

Telenor/Telia -Group acquires German business ISP OMNILINK

Telenor/Telia, the recently merged Scandinavian telecommunications Group, continues its ambitious international expansion into Germany. OMNILINK is the second German business ISP to be acquired by the Group this month, after the successful acquisition of Darmstadt-based e.comp.

KPN and Telia/Telenor announce intention to dispose of their 35% stake in Eircom

After three successful years of partnership, KPN Royal Dutch Telecom and Telia of Sweden intend to dispose of their strategic investment in Irish telecom operator Eircom. This decision follows the European Commission's requirement that the combined Telia/Telenor group divest of one of their interests in competing Irish telecommunications operators.

Advisers appointed for the sales of cable TV business

Telenor/Telia announces the appointment of NM Rothschild & Sons ("Rothschild") and D. Carnegie AB ("Carnegie") as joint advisers on the sale of their respective cable TV businesses, TIMTV and Telenor Avidi. Disposal of those businesses is a condition of EU approval of the merger between the two parent companies. [Not for release, publication or distribution in or into the United States of America, Australia,Canada or Japan]

Sense Communications buys GSM network capacity from Telia/Telenor Mobile

Telia/Telenor Mobile have signed service provider agreements with telecom operator, Sense Communications International AS. Sense will buy GSM network capacity from the two companies allowing it to develop and offer a suite of mobile communications services to its own customer base throughout Sweden and Norway.

NEWTEL IRELAND AB Cash offer for ESAT TELECOM GROUP PLC

The board of Newtel Ireland AB confirms that, following the announcement last week by the Governments of Norway and Sweden that the merger of Telenor AS and Telia AB to form Newtel AB is to be unwound, Newtel AB has agreed to sell the shares held by it in Newtel Ireland AB to Telenor AS. Consequently, Newtel Ireland is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telenor AS and is being renamed Telenor Ireland AB.

Telenor/Telia acquires German business ISP: e.comp

Telenor/Telia, the recently merged Scandinavian telecommunications group, continues its ambitious international expansion into Germany. With the acquisition of e.comp, an Internet Service Provider focusing on the business market, Telia/Telenor will enter Germany's large and demanding professional IP-based communication services market.

Telenor/Telia cuts Norwegian mobile prices by NOK 150 per customer

Beginning on 1 February 2000, Telenor will change its pricing structure and cut call prices for its GSM mobile phone customers. Calls will be billed in seconds with an initial charge, making it cheaper to call and send text messages. All in all, the move will give net price reductions of NOK 250 million (more than 31 million USD) in 2000. This is a seven per cent cut, or NOK 150 per GSM subscriber (nearly 19 USD).

Telenor/Telia: Stronger earnings despite deep price cuts

Telenor and Telia reported earnings higher than in the corresponding period the preceding year, excluding one-off items. Higher earnings resulted from a combination of stronger revenues and successful cost-cutting, mainly in the domestic markets.

Telenor and Q-Free take the first step to European toll road standard

Q-Free and Telenor were recently chosen as contractors for a new electronic tag system for road toll collection in Norway. The project, called Autopass, will set a new standard for Electronic Fee Collection system (EFC) in Norway. This new tag is the first step towards a common European toll road standard.

EU approves merger of Telenor and Telia

The EU Commission said yes on Wednesday to the merger of Telenor and Telia. "The decision was very welcome, and we have plans ready to introduce a strong, customer-oriented and very competitive telecommunications company to the Scandinavian market and internationally", says the future President and CEO Tormod Hermansen.

Telenor Mobil introduces Internet access from your mobile phone

Telenor Mobil announces the launch of a service which will provide mobile phone subscribers with Internet access from their phones. The technology is called WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and links GSM and the Internet, allowing users access to information and services hosted on standard WEB servers.

Telenor Reports Continued Revenue Growth

The Telenor Group recorded an operating profit of NOK 1811 million for the first six months of 1999. This is an increase of NOK 42 million compared to the corresponding period in 1998. Turnover increased during the same period by over 15 per cent to NOK 15 851 million.

New mobile record in the 1st half year: prepaid subscriptions leap ahead

Sales of mobile phones are still breaking all records in Norway. So far this year Telenor Mobil has sold 266,984 new GSM subscriptions, making a total of 100,000 more GSM subscriptions in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 1998. RingKontant, i.e. prepaid subscriptions, account for more than 90 percent of the new sales. Telenor Mobil is now expanding network capacity for RingKontant in order to be able to cope with its gigantic growth.

Telenor with new mobile offer this summer: prepaid service can be used from abroad

From 9 July, customers who use Telenor Mobil's prepaid service will be able to use their mobile telephones abroad. Users of the prepaid service will be able to make calls from and receive calls to their mobile 'phone, and send and receive text messages when they are abroad.

Grameen Phone signs long-term international loan agreement

Grameen Phone in Bangladesh has signed a 55 million US dollar financing package agreement with the Asia Development Bank (ADB), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC). The loan and equity agreement was signed in Dhaka on Wednesday 7th July and provides for a 16,67 million US dollar loan and an equity investment of 1,57 million dollar each from IFC, ADB and CDC. Telenor is the majority shareholder in Grameen Phone with 51%.

Aliatel and Telenor confirm consortium partnership in Czech Republic

The Aliatel-Telenor partnership is in a strong strategic position to win the third mobile license. Both companies possess market and business know-how, financial strength and the technical infrastructure to offer attractive wireless services within the Czech Republic. Together they have a strong position both locally and internationally in the telecom market. “The consortium is a [...]

Year 2000 is ready for your call

Telenors network is now year 2000 ready. Phone calls and other telecommunications and data services supplied by Telenor are now taking place on year 2000 ready networks. Telenor has tested and corrected its services with possible year 2000 errors in mind, 6 months before New Year.

Tormod Hermansen: “No shares offered to BT!”

There have been some claims in the media today that the future C.E.O. of the proposed merged Telenor/Telia, Mr. Tormod Hermansen, has offered BT (British Telecom) an ownership share of between three and 15 per cent in the new company. "I have of course not offered any such thing to BT relating to ownership shares. Distribution of shares will be handled by the owners - the Norwegian and Swedish governments - and I strongly reject such unfounded claims," states Mr. Hermansen.

Letter of Intent Between Telenor and Cisco Systems: All-out effort to build new infrastructure

Telenor has signed a letter of intent on a comprehensive collaboration with Cisco Systems, the world's leading supplier of electronic systems for the Internet. The aim is to build a test version of an integrated infrastructure based on the Internet Protocol (IP) for telephony, data and multimedia services from land-line and mobile connections. Based on the test results, Telenor can eventually replace the variety of networks currently in use with this Full Service Network (FSN).

EU extends study of merger between Telenor and Telia

The EU Commission Tuesday decided to expand its analysis of the proposed merger between Telenor and Telia. The study now enters what is called phase 2, a phase which may last up to four months.

The 1999 Telenor Research Award goes to the Telepathology Group in Tromsø

The 1999 Telenor Research Award has been given to the Telepathology Group within the telemedicine project in Tromsø. The group gets the prize for its contributions to develop and promote telepathology as a methode within telemedicine. The award money of NOK 250,000 is Friday handed over in Langesund, at the the annual gathering for the Norwegian electronics and computer trades.

Telenor to launch new Inmarsat global area network service

Telenor will be one of the first Inmarsat operators and service providers to launch Inmarsats new Global Area Network (GAN) for mobile multimedia applications, offering the service from the third quarter of 1999. GAN is the worlds first global communications switched system for mobile multimedia applications.

Telenor launches broadband internet access with ADSL

Telenor became the first telecom operator in Scandinavia to offer the new terrestrial broadband ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) service on June 7th. Initially available in central regions of Oslo, Bærum and Tromsø, the ADSL service offers businesses Internet access at speeds from 5 to 30 times higher than an ISDN connection, at a price which is lower than a leased line.

Industry leaders form focus group to promote third generation wireless IP technology

AT&T, BT, Rogers Cantel, Ericsson, Lucent Technologies, Nokia, Nortel, Telenor and TIM, Global Leaders in Mobile Communications are forming a 3G.IP focus group to develop an all IP based architecture for 3rd generation mobile systems.

Change in dividend from Telenor

Telenors general assembly has in its meeting June 4 changed the dividend published in the companys annual report for 1998. The dividend has been increased by 25 million NOK to 700 million NOK, and retained earnings has been reduced accordingly.

Telenor, 1st Quarter 1999

The Telenor Group's operating profit for the 1st quarter of 1999 was NOK 810 million, an increase of NOK 36 million compared to the same period in 1998. Compared to the 1st quarter of 1998, the growth in turnover was just over 14 per cent and came primarily from network-based services such as fixed and mobile telephony and satellites.

Annual Report 1998 available

Oslo, 04-22-99) Telenor's annual report for 1998 is now available, either from our website or as a printed version. Requests for printed reports should be made either via email to Telenors trykksaksenter or by fax: (+47) 22 16 03 28. Please remember to enclose your complete postal address.

Agreement Between Owners Finalised for Merger of Telenor and Telia

"I am pleased that the agreements between the owners have now been finalised for the merger of Telenor and Telia. Now we will be devoting all our energy to creating an international and expansive telecommunications company. With the strong position we enjoy on our home markets as our point of departure, our ambition is to become a leading actor in Europe and globally in areas where the new company will have unique competence." These are the words of Tormod Hermansen, the future president and CEO of the merged Telenor/Telia, in a comment on the signing of the final agreements for a merger of the companies.

Telenor and Ericsson launch the “mobile wallet”

A new technology developed by Telenor Mobil and Ericsson in Norway allows you to order goods and services from your mobile phone. The bill is paid at the same time via the phones display and SIM card. After Easter, a trial project will allow test subscribers to purchase cinema tickets, using their mobile phones.

1998 Preliminary results for the Telenor Group

Preliminary results for 1998, show operating income of NOK 28,380 million for the Telenor Group. This is approximately 11 per cent more than the previous year. Operating profits increased with NOK 1,081 million to NOK 3,847 million. Profit before taxes increased with NOK 592 million to a total of NOK 2,057 million. Senior Vice President Torstein Moland has commented that " Telenor is satisfied with the net result for 1998. This result reflects a very strong increase in fixed network, mobile telephony as well as satellite communications. Our net result has also been affected by NOK 800 million in price reductions made by Telenor in 1998. "

Telenor and Telia to be merged into a new company

The Norwegian Minister of Transport and Communications Odd Einar Dørum and the Swedish Minister of Industry Bjørn Rosengren on Wednesday signed a letter of intent to merge Telenor and Telia into a new company. The agreement is based on commercial principles, equality between the two countries and a precondition that the new company will be partially privatized and listed on the stock exchange.