The AGM also approved a cancelling of treasury shares and redemption of shares owned by the Kingdom of Norway as part of the share buy-back program 2012 – 2013. After cancellation and redemption, the company’s share capital will be NOK 9,099,745,626 divided into 1,516,624,271 shares.

The AGM has authorised the Board of Directors to buy back up to 46,000,000 shares, corresponding to approximately three per cent of the company’s share capital. This authorisation is valid until the AGM in 2014.

As a result of the approved dividend, the shares in Telenor ASA will be traded ex dividend NOK 6.00 as from 16 May 2013. Expected payment date for dividends to shareholders registered in the company’s shareholder register by end of 15 May 2013, is 30 May 2013.

Contact:

Dag Melgaard, Head of Information, Telenor Group, tel: +47 901 92 000, e-mail: dag.melgaard@telenor.com

The partnership with the renowned research University is the first for the Telenor Group in the United States.

Viral spreading

The two projects are good examples of applied research. The first project looks at viral spreading. In collaboration with David Lazer, a professor of political science and computer and information science at Northeastern, the Telenor team is analysing how products or services spread in socially connected groups. The research has already started in one of the Telenor companies in Asia, while another pilot in Europe will launch this summer.

Predicting success

The second project is about “predicting success.”  For this project, Telenor is co-operating with Dashun Wang, a Ph.D. student in Northeastern’s Center for Complex Network Research, on predicting service or product adoption based on a very short initial phase of sales performance.

Beyond data donation

“Our partnership with Northeastern represents a new model of cooperation. We are participating in research, rather than just limiting our contribution to a pure data donation. Big data is our focus area and it is important for our researchers to exchange ideas and develop relations with the top scientists in this field,” says Bjørn Taale Sandberg, Head of Research and Future Studies at Telenor Group.

Contact

Tor Odland, VP Group Media, tel.: +47 990 90 872, email: tor.odland@telenor.com

“For me, Uninor is and will always be a challenger.  Our successful entry into the Indian market has provided us with a strong platform for growth, and our clear ambition for the future is to continue taking market share by being recognized as the most attractive choice for mobile services in India”, said Yogesh Malik

“I believe that our strong operational focus and continued pursuit of efficiency within our own organization gives us a competitive advantage that allows us to further strengthen and develop our commitment of being the most affordable service provider in India. I look forward to work with a team that with its “winning every day” attitude and passion for innovation continues to impress me by beating expectations again and again”, said Yogesh Malik. “

Yogesh Malik joined Uninor in 2011. He comes from the position as COO in the company. In this role he has been responsible for developing a highly efficient operating model that has made Uninor a preferred choice for customers in the hypercompetitive Indian market.

He brings with him almost 20 years of extensive telecom experience.  He has previously held executive positions at Telenor Group headquarter in Norway, and he has served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Telenor Group companies in Ukraine and Bangladesh. His extensive career in the telecom industry also includes experience from AT&T, Tata and Ericsson in India and Sweden and for the international mobile operator TIW (today known as Vodafone) in Canada, China, Brazil and the Czech Republic.

Sigve Brekke to fully focus on Asian growth

In parallel to being Manager Director of Uninor, Sigve Brekke has also held the position as Telenor Group Head of Asian Operations. When he now steps down as MD of Uninor he will fully focus on this role. He will continue to have overall responsibility for Telenor affairs in India as the head of Region Asia and will formally take over as Chairman of Uninor once necessary regulatory clearances are secured.

“Taking responsibility for our Indian operations was always meant to be temporary, but with all the challenges that we faced, my period in India became longer than intended. My time here has been both challenging and rewarding. In Uninor I have had the pleasure of working with committed and dedicated people with a never give up attitude and a strong focus on winning new customers every day”, said Sigve Brekke. “It is now time for me to strengthen my focus on further development of Telenor Group’s Asian portfolio. Asia represents a strong growth potential, and I believe Telenor is well positioned to capture more than its fair share of this growth.”

Telenor Group will also be represented in India through its country office. This office will be responsible for Telenor Group’s external and strategic affairs in India, and continues to be headed by its Chief Representative in India, Mr. Rajiv Bawa.

“Based on our experience in Telenor’s well-performing operations in the region, we strongly believe that we will be able to create value in the Bulgarian market. By contributing with our scale and experience to Globul’s competence and market knowledge, we can offer even better quality and more advanced services to Bulgarian customers,” says Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of the Telenor Group.

In Central and Eastern Europe, Telenor Group is currently present in Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro. The company is a leader in terms of mobile revenue share in Serbia and Montenegro.

“Our entrance into the Bulgarian market enhances the potential for cross-border co-operation and increased efficiency that our customers, businesses and the Telenor Group as a whole will benefit from. We also see a potential in expansion of mobile data and internet-based services in the market,” said Kjell-Morten Johnsen, Executive Vice-President and Head of region Europe.

Globul has been present in Bulgaria since 2001. At the end of 2012, the company reported 4.5 million subscribers and a 36 percent subscriber market share. In 2012, Globul and Germanos Bulgaria generated revenues of EUR 378 million and EBITDA of EUR 135 million.

The transaction is subject to relevant merger control approvals and is expected to be finalised in Q3 2013.

No further comments will be given until the press and analyst conference on Monday, 29 April 2013 at 0900 CET.

Press and analyst conference

Telenor Group will hold a press and analyst conference on Monday, 29 April 2013 at 09.00 CET at the Telenor Group Visitor Centre. The presentation will be conducted by Kjell-Morten Johnsen, Executive Vice President and Head of region Europe.

The press and analyst conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will be made available at www.telenor.com.

The press and analyst conference will also be available as a conference call. This service allows participants to ask questions at a concluding Q&A session, which will be held immediately after the presentation and a Q&A session in the auditorium.

Dial-in details for the conference call, as well as the presentation material, will be provided at www.telenor.com on 29 April at 07.00 CET

“The organic revenue growth for the Group this quarter is weaker than previous quarters due to lower growth contribution from India and handset sales, as well as regulatory factors. However, we regard the underlying trends as positive. We see healthy mobile service revenue growth in our operations in Norway and Thailand contributing to solid margins, as well as strong customer acquisition in Bangladesh. Regulatory issues impacted our performance in Pakistan this quarter however we now see sales picking up. During this quarter, dtac in Thailand completed a nationwide network upgrade and is preparing for the launch of 3G services on the 2.1 GHz frequency band in the second quarter. This will represent an important milestone in the transition from a concession to a licencing regime,’’ said Baksaas.

“In Norway, we continue to invest to secure our customers’ access to superior mobile network coverage and high quality of services. We have recently adjusted our mobile market offers to adapt to changing customer needs and the transition to data. We see positive effects from operational efficiency this quarter, and regard this as a key contributor to value creation going forward, ” said Baksaas.

“To enable our customers to take advantage of the opportunities that the Internet offers, we need to be responsive to change. The growth in demand for data centric services requires significant investments in high-speed networks. It is therefore paramount that we continue to implement sustainable business models to secure long-term return on these investments,” said Baksaas.

“Based on the performance in the first quarter and our estimates for the rest of the year, we adjust the 2013 outlook for organic revenue growth somewhat to 2-4%. At the same time, we maintain the outlook for EBITDA margin and capex/sales.” said Baksaas.

Key figures

The table below contains key figures for the first quarter of 2013, compared to the previous year.

¹ Adjusted operating profit is defined as Operating profit less other income and expenses and impairment losses.

² Operating cash flow is defined as EBITDA before other income and expenses – Capex, excluding licences and spectrum

³ Net interest-bearing liabilities is defined as interest-bearing debt excluding net present value of licence liabilities.

For more information please refer to the quarterly report at http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2013/q1-results/.

Contact:
Meera Bhatia, Communications Manager, Tel: +4746844959, E-mail: meera.bhatia@telenor.com

To the editorial offices:
Press and analyst conference
In connection with the publication of the financial results, a press and analyst conference will be held on Friday 26 April 2013 at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium A, Telenor Expo Visitors’ Centre, at the Telenor Headquarters at Fornebu outside Oslo. President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Richard Olav Aa will present the results. All presentations will be given in English.

Internet and mobile broadcast
The press and analyst conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will be made available on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2013/q1-results/. During the live transmission, written questions may be submitted via the Internet. The conference will also be available live, and in a recorded version, on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +472440 from abroad.

Conference call and Q&A
The press and analyst conference will also be available as a conference call. This service also allows participants to ask questions at a concluding Q&A session, which will be held immediately after the presentation and a brief Q&A session in the auditorium. Please register well in advance on (+47)23184545, and state your name and company to an automatic voicemail followed by # (pound sign). For the Q&A session: to queue up for questions please press *1.

Materials
English language versions of the full quarterly report and all presentations used during the press and analyst conference will be made available at http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2013/q1-results/

‘First and foremost, this is a good day for TV viewers. At TV 2, we are particularly pleased that we once again have the opportunity to offer everyone in Norway all of our content across all of our channels,’ says Alf Hildrum, CEO of TV 2.

Hildrum indicates that viewers will now be able to enjoy full coverage of the parliamentary elections this autumn, big entertainment programmes like the new season of “Skal vi danse”(Strictly come dancing), and TV 2′s extensive sports coverage that includes huge sporting events such as the football World Cup and the 2014 winter Olympics.

‘We are pleased that we now have in place a great three-year agreement with TV 2 that ensures all of Canal Digital’s customers have access to TV 2′s channels. We are particularly satisfied that this is a forward-looking agreement, which in time will allow us to deliver a TV experience that has both more options and more flexibility for our cable and satellite TV customers,’ says Morten Karlsen Sørby, Executive Vice President and Head of Strategy and Regulatory Affairs at Telenor Group, and Chairman of Telenor Broadcast Holding AS and Telenor Norway AS.

A great agreement for all parties

The companies stress that negotiations have been long and demanding, but that they have now reached a solution where both parties are satisfied with the result and the opportunities that the agreement provides for further development. The agreement covers several new services, including the ability to watch TV 2′s programmes through various catch up services.

‘For TV 2, the negotiations have primarily been about gaining recognition of the sums involved in the production of news, sport, and Norwegian entertainment, which are resource intensive. The agreement we have negotiated provides a basis for further investment in quality content. The agreement is also a good starting point for further development of cooperation between TV 2 and Canal Digital,’ says Alf Hildrum.

‘The most important thing for us is to ensure a forward-looking agreement that resolves all previous disagreements and enables us to focus on further cooperation. We are pleased that we have reached an agreement, and that together with TV 2 we will develop TV services that are adapted to the every day of modern television,’ says Morten Karlsen Sørby.

Canal Digital Cable TV:

Catharina Kokkim, Communications Manager, Canal Digital Cable tv. Telephone +47 988 02 335

Canal Digital Norway (parabol):

Kenneth Tjønndal Pettersen, Communications Manager, Canal Digital Norge AS Telephone +47 982 57 555

TV2:

Rune Indrøy, Communications Manager, TV2. Telephone +47 905 57 723

 Internet and mobile broadcast

The press and analysts conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and will also be available as a recording after the conference. The live service also allows for written questions to be submitted. In addition, the conference will be available live and as a recording on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +47 2440 from abroad. For more details please visit http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2013/q1-results/

Conference Call and Q&A

You may also call in and listen to the presentation over the phone. This service allows you to ask questions at the Q&A session at the end of the presentation. For details, see http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2013/q1-results/. To participate in the Conference Call please register before the conference starts by calling (+47) 23184545.

Material

The quarterly report and English versions of the presentations will be made available on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2013/q1-results/ 

Contacts

Media:

Meera Bhatia, Communications Manager, tel.; (+47) 46 84 49 59,

e-mail: meera.bhatia@telenor.com

Analysts and investors:

Marianne Moe, Head of IR, tel..: (+47) 67 89 26 56 or (+47) 91 61 76 31

“We are proud to be the first mobile money service to introduce a savings product in Pakistan. Khushaal Munafa will focus on micro savings, promote savings and reduce vulnerability of low income families. Easypaisa’s key objective is financial inclusion, and savings are an integral part of getting people to start using formal financial services,” said Telenor Group CEO, Jon Fredrik Baksaas.

Have financial service needs, but lack access

Financial exclusion characterises emerging economies due to lack of credit history, limited access to formal banking channels and bank branches and limited trust in existing financial products. Being a cash economy, more than 80% of Pakistan’s population do not have bank accounts.

Across the country, people have a need for financial services in order to manage short-term volatility of cash flows, send and receive money transfers and build savings for major occasions like weddings and schooling of children.

Khushaal Munafa offers Easypaisa Mobile Account customers a profit of up to 9% on saving Rs. 2,000 or more in their mobile accounts. The savings product is available to both existing and new mobile account customers. After subscribing to a particular Khushaal Munafa plan, the minimum balance according to the selected plan will be locked in the system and customers will only be able to perform transactions on the account balance in excess of the minimum balance requirements. Profit will be calculated and paid out on the total balance in the mobile account.

“Khushaal Munafa will help create a financial ecosystem for the bottom of the pyramid and empower them with the basic rights to avail services that provide an affordable and convenient method of integration into the world of financial services,” said Nadeem Hussain, CEO and President, Tameer Micro Finance Bank limited.

Khushaal Munafa follows previous launches of remittance, payments and insurance products. A study conducted by Boston Consulting Group commissioned Telenor Group indicates that mobile financial services may increase financial inclusion in Pakistan by 20%, and lead to an increase in GDP of up to 3 percent by 2020.

Media Contact:

Tor Odland, Vice President, Telenor Group Communications, tel.: +47 990 90 872, email: tor.odland@telenor.com

About Easypaisa

Committed to providing financial inclusion to the people of Pakistan, Easypaisa shops are present at over 22,000 outlets in more than 750 cities and towns in the country. Nearly 4 million unique users use Easypaisa services every month for basic financial services like utility bill payments, money transfer and mobile accounts. Around 117 million transactions worth over Rs. 261 billion have been carried out through Easypaisa since launch. For further details, kindly visit http://www.easypaisa.com.pk

About Tameer Microfinance Bank Limited

Tameer Microfinance Bank Limited (TMFB) is the first scheduled and largest micro finance bank in Pakistan and incorporated in 2005 to provide micro-finance and related financial services to the less privileged and the unbanked segment of the society, with an aim to contribute towards poverty eradication under the Microfinance Institution ordinance, 2001. The bank currently has outreach of over 115 Tameer customer touch points.

The range of financial services offered by TMFB includes deposits, loans, mobile accounts, health insurance, alternative energy solutions, remittances, and cash management services, delivery through Bank on Wheels, Agricultural and Dairy Financing. http://www.tameerbank.com

Telenor commissioned studies: http://www.telenor.com/corporate-responsibility/impact/

 ’We believe that every elderly person can benefit from socialising online from time to time. By becoming more familiar with social media it can be easier to stay in touch with friends and loved ones, even when it isn’t possible to be physically present,’ says Berit Svendsen, CEO of Telenor Norway.

 The higher the age, the lower the knowledge and use. While one in three aged 65-70 used social media, just 20 per cent of those aged 75-85 do so. One in three of those over 75 responded that they didn’t know what social media was.

‘It’s nice that Telenor helps to raise awareness among seniors about social media through its “Senior Guide for social media.” By using technology, the elderly people have an opportunity to stay in touch with friends and family, and they easily can enter into a dialogue with past and new acquaintances,’ said Secretary General of the Red Cross, Åsne Havnelid.

 The generation gap

Of those aged 65-85, 27 per cent said that they spend some time alone and that they would like more contact with family and friends. Loneliness increases with age, more than one in three of those over 75 responded that they would like more contact with family and friends.

 Of the elderly who use social media, two in three stated that they did so to stay in touch with family and friends. This applied particularly to the most elderly. 82 per cent of those over 75 responded that they used social media as a social aid.

 ‘To many seniors, loneliness is a strain. To help older adults to become more comfortable with social media can be an effective measure in the fight against loneliness. Technology can make it easier to stay in touch with family and friends,’ says Åsne Havnelid.

 ’As a channel of communication, the Internet is of course no substitute for visits and close contact, but it can be an alternative at those times when one would otherwise be alone,’ says Svendsen.

 Perceived generation gap

The recent survey also shows that there is broad agreement among the elderly that the Internet and social media have created a generation gap. A total of 65 per cent of respondents over 65 fully or partially agreed with this.

 ‘Probably, more knowledge in this area could also help lessen the perceived distance between the generations,’ says Havnelid.

 ‘We hope that today’s grandchildren will help us to train the grandparent generation in how to get online. If there is anyone who really knows how to socialise on digital platforms, it’s them,’ urges Svendsen.

 For further information, please contact:

Anders Krokan, Information Manager, Telenor Norway, tel. + 47 952 09 327, Email anders.krokan@telenor.com.

“We have performed well in Asia due to the combination of our technical competence, our deep understanding of customers’ demands and our experience working with governments and partners to deliver infrastructure and services that are locally tailored to meet each individual market’s communications needs. We have pioneered mobile communications in Asia and we hope to bring our knowledge, experience and corporate values to Myanmar, helping to advance the country’s telecommunications objectives, while positively impacting the lives of the people of Myanmar through the immense opportunities that mobile access provides,” said Sigve Brekke, Executive Vice President and Head of Asian operations in Telenor Group.

16 years of experience in Asia

As one of the world’s major mobile operators with close to 150 million mobile subscribers, Norway-based Telenor aims, if selected, to build on its 16 years of experience in providing innovative and affordable solutions in Asia to ensure that Myanmar reaps the benefits of communications in boosting social and economic development. The company would do that in the same open, transparent and collaborative manner that has been so important to its success in the other markets in which it operates.

Through its operations in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, Telenor Group has gained solid experience in establishing successful mobile operations in greenfield markets. Telenor’s unique distribution platforms in Asia have become the company’s competitive advantage, enabling its local operations to connect millions of previously unconnected people across Asia with mobile communications services. In India, one of the world’s most competitive markets, Uninor is among the fastest-growing mobile operators, offering reliable mobile services at affordable prices.

For further information, please contact:

Glenn Mandelid, Director of Communications, Telenor Group region Asia, glenn.mandelid@telenor.com, (66) 82 440 1122

“Google and Telenor make it possible for Android^TM users to easily and safely pay for apps and content trough the mobile subscription bill. In addition, we make it easier for our customers to find services such as Telenor Faktura (the mobile phone bill), Mine Kontakter (my contacts) and Dekningsappen (app for coverage), as well as exciting apps worth discovering. These apps are found under the Telenor logo in Google Play, said Stein-Erik Vellan, leader of the Mobile Division at Telenor Norway.

The launch is a result of cooperation between Telenor Digital Services and Telenor Norway.

“We are constantly looking for new services to create increased value for our customers. The cooperation with Google is one example of this,” said Rolv-Erik Spilling, head of Telenor Digital Services.

Google, Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google Inc.

For further information, please contact

Anders Krokan, Information Manager at Telenor Norway, 95209037, anders.krokan@telenor.com

However, from today Telenor will be taking its customers on a journey of constantly improving sound quality.

“Mobile phone conversations where it’s difficult to understand what’s being said can be very tiresome. We finally have the solution to meet this challenge and Telenor will be working to ensure that more and more people are able to enjoy the benefits of the mobile sound quality of the future,” says Svendsen.

Fewer Misunderstandings

With HD Voice, of which Telenor is the only provider in Norway, Telenor’s customers will experience greatly improved sound quality compared to standard mobile sound quality. Apart from better voice rendering, it is the reduction in background noise that will particularly improve the calling experience.

‘The nuances in tone will be clear and the sound more lifelike. Those working in or located in areas with a lot of background noise, such as cafés or close to traffic, will benefit greatly from HD Voice. Better sound quality will also generally ensure fewer misunderstandings and will allow you to talk more quietly on the phone. This is very convenient when you are in a public space,’ says Berit Svendsen.

No extra cost for Telenor Customers

The service is automatically available for all Telenor customers and is available free of cost. However, you must have a phone that is HD Voice ready, as must the other person in the phone call. Most newer smart phones are HD Voice ready on 3G.

Initially, only customers on Telenor’s 3G network will benefit from the new system. During the course of the year, customers using Telenor’s 2G network will also get the chance to use HD Voice, but there are unfortunately few mobile phones that support the system on 2G. Later on there will also be support for HD Voice calls between the 2G and 3G networks, but this is expected to be in the more distant future.

For further information, please contact

Anders Krokan, Information Manager, Telenor Norway, +4795209037, anders.krokan@telenor.com

“We have already seen rapid uptake of a co-branded version of the Opera Mini mobile browser in our business units, helping our many feature phone customers experience the Internet, sometimes for the first time. We believe this re-forged partnership will open up even more opportunities for our business units and our customers to take advantage of the full benefits of the Web,” said Rolv-Erik Spilling, Head of Telenor Digital Services.

Opera was initially selected as a Telenor partner two years ago, due to its status as a best-of-breed browser on feature phones, in addition to its data compression capabilities that create a faster Internet experience for users and a lesser load on the network.

Opera Mini has been a particular success for Telenor’s Malaysian operator DiGi and Bangladeshi operator Grameenphone. To increase the number of users of the co-branded Opera Mini, DiGi and dtac in Thailand launched campaigns that enabled users surfing with the Telenor co-branded version of Opera Mini to access content from Wikipedia and Facebook at no data charge. Campaigns in Grameenphone resulted in 1.3 million new users of the co-branded Opera Mini in just one year, while DiGi gained nearly half a million new users in just four months.

“By creating a service ecosystem around the Opera Mini browser, we are giving Telenor’s global operations more control and more real estate to communicate new offers and create campaigns for their customers,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “We look forward to seeing even more customers around the world enjoying a great Web experience from Opera and Telenor.”

DiGi was also the first operator worldwide to launch Opera’s new web pass concept, where users can buy easy-to-understand data plans in the similar way as they buy apps.

Read more about DiGi’s cooperation with Opera for a “click-to-go” service.

For further information, please contact:
- Atle Lessum, Head of Communication Telenor Digital Services, tel. 415 05 645, al@telenor.com

- Katrin Jaakson, Head of Global Media Relations, Opera Software, tel. +47 9205 4570 katrinj@opera.com

Read the Guiding Principles

“Today’s launch of our collaboration with GNI as well as our Guiding Principles is a great first step. By working with other major telecoms, seeking support from the GNI as a common platform, and engaging with relevant stakeholders we are making progress on this important journey. Together we are better able to raise the issues and find a common approach to important human rights like freedom of expression and privacy rights on a global level,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group.

The Telecommunications Industry Dialogue is a group of global companies that are collaborating to exchange best practices, learnings and tools. Together they created the first set of Guiding Principles, and now with support from GNI, they plan to continue to advance issues of privacy and freedom of expression and engage more extensively with key stakeholders.

“Telecommunications play an essential role facilitating the free flow of information, and today the human rights and economic impacts of the sector are in the global spotlight,” said GNI Executive Director Susan Morgan. “The GNI believes that strength lies in numbers and this is an important opportunity to pursue shared goals and a common approach to human rights.”

The members of the Industry Dialogue are not joining GNI as a part of this collaboration, and the group remains open to other telecommunications companies. There is a review process built into the work that will assess progress during the two years.

 Read GNI’s press release

About GNI

GNI is a multi-stakeholder group of companies, civil society organizations (including human rights and press freedom groups), investors and academics, who have created a collaborative approach to protect and advance freedom of expression and privacy in the ICT sector. GNI provides resources for ICT companies to help them address difficult issues related to freedom of expression and privacy that they may face anywhere in the world. GNI has created a framework of principles and a confidential, collaborative approach to working through challenges of corporate responsibility in the ICT sector. Read more:

www.globalnetworkinitiative.org

The Telecommunications Industry Dialogue was formed in 2011 to jointly address freedom of expression and privacy risks within the sector. The Industry Dialogue Guiding Principles are available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Turkish. Companies currently participating in the Industry Dialogue are:

• Alcatel-Lucent
• France Telecom-Orange
• Millicom
• Nokia Siemens Networks
• Telefonica
• Telenor
• TeliaSonera
• Vodafone

Contact

Tor Odland, VP Group Media, tel.: +47 990 90 872, email: tor.odland@telenor.com

“We believe mobile coupons and similar loyalty concepts have considerable potential, and we want to take a strong position starting with the Nordic region,” says Svein Henning Kirkeng, Head of e-commerce within Telenor Digital Services.

Mobile phones play an increasingly important role for customer loyalty

Coupons have been a widespread marketing tool for quite some time, but in Norway promotional gifts were first permitted in 2009.  This means that Norway is still an immature coupon market, but at the same time, a significant portion of the country’s coupons are most likely to be distributed directly on mobile phones.

The advantage of using the mobile phone is that you always carry it with you. Through digital solutions it’s easier to create personalized offers, ensure more efficient distribution of these offers and gain better understanding of user behaviour. In addition, other related services on the mobile can be offered, such as punch cards, gift vouchers, bonus cards, loyalty cards, etc.

Telenor established Valuecodes with Payex in 2010 to take a position in the mobile coupons and value codes market. Through its acquisition of Liquid Barcodes, Telenor will drive this development forward.

“With our strengthened focus on mobile coupons and value codes, Liquid Barcodes will bring valuable expertise and experience that makes the development of mobile loyalty concepts even more relevant for brands and retailers. Telenor will now take an even stronger position within this area,” says Svein Henning Kirkeng.

For further information, please contact:

- Atle Lessum, Communication Telenor Digital Services, tel. 415 05 645, al@telenor.com

About Liquid Barcodes

Liquid Barcodes deliver complete solutions for mobile digital coupons and loyalty cards in the Nordic countries. Liquid Barcodes has about 10 employees. Annual turnover for 2012 was around NOK 10 million. The company is based in Oslo.

“These old handsets simply pile up in our rummage drawer. Sports clubs all round Norway are now collecting handsets you no longer need. Over 90 percent of an old handset can be recycled for new production,” says Berit Svendsen, CEO of Telenor Norway.

550 sports clubs all round the country are launching an extensive campaign to collect old mobile phones. This voluntary campaign is a cooperative effort between Telenor and the The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF). Clubs receive NOK 35 for each handset they collect.

Millions of phones

And there are plenty of phones to seek out.

According to a Norstat questionnaire on behalf of Telenor, 51 percent of Norwegians age 17 or older, have at least one surplus handset lying around. 19 percent even have four phones or more.

Which all adds up to around 7.8 million surplus mobile phones.

2.2 million mobile handsets were sold in Norway in 2012, ten percent fewer than the previous year. Smartphones now account for 86 percent of sales.

“People prefer to keep their smartphones for a bit longer, but we still think it is worth continuing this campaign for many years. Norwegians care about the environment and there is a huge number of surplus phones out there,” says Berit Svendsen.

Boosting club funds

This is the third year the campaign is being run. In the first two years, sports clubs collected over 350,000 old handsets, raising NOK 12.4 million for the clubs in the process.

“In boosting club funds around Norway, this money is going to a good cause. The campaign also has a clear green profile. This provides an added boost to the volunteers who go round collecting the phones,” says Børre Rognlien President of The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sport.

The campaign is part of the Telenor programme “Old phone new life” and  is becoming known to the population. Four in ten people say they have heard of it, and nine out of ten say they would be willing to donate a surplus phone to the campaign, according to the Norstat survey.

Recycled

The phones are collected in special bags to prevent them being taken out of the bag to ensure the safety of those who donate their old phone to the campaign.

They are then counted and registered in Norway before being sent to Telenor’s environment certified recycling partner Regenersis Inc. in Britain, one of the world’s largest recyclers of electronic equipment.

Surplus handsets in figures

• Have one old phone: 23%
• Have two old phones: 20%
• Have three old phones: 12%
• Have four old phones: 7%
• Have five old phones: 6%
• Have six or more: 6%

Source: Norstat

Contact

Elisabeth Helgesen, Communications Advisor at Telenor Norge AS, tel: +47 47 90 00 35, e-mail elisabeth.helegsen@telenor.com

Morten Schønfeldt, marketing Director Norges idrettsforbund, tlf. 922 00 878, e-post: morten.schonfeldt@idrettsforbundet.no

“This concept allows us to enhance each individual’s ability to look after themselves on a day-to-day basis despite suffering from an illness or reduced functional capacity. A great many people wish to live at home, and technological assistance of this type helps to increase security, safety and social interaction”, explains Johan Arnt Elverum, Mayor of the Stjørdal municipality.

“Welfare technology and the ability to link solutions with patient records allows us to ensure that individuals receive the right help when they need it. At the same time, we are now in a better position to face the challenges posed by our ageing population and the increased demand for healthcare. Welfare technology is set to free up healthcare workers while also supplementing, rather than replacing, other key services”, says Elverum.

Always up-to-date

Welfare technology is an umbrella term for various technical solutions that allow sick or elderly people to receive the care they need while still being able to live in their own homes. These solutions can take the form of different sensors that detect incidents such as falls, blood pressure and involuntary urination, or security alarms and GPS tracking. The solution in use in the Værnes region collects all the warning signals regarding a particular individual at a single location — in the electronic patient record.

“This gives healthcare professionals a means of accessing up-to-date patient information at any time via a mobile device or tablet computer. The warnings are also displayed on these devices automatically to ensure that patients can get the help they need”, says Jan Ivar Borgersen, CEO of Visma Unique AS.

Welfare technology is one of Visma’s key priorities and today over half of the municipalities use Visma electronic patient records and mobile solutions.

Rapid development

The healthcare sector is an important field for Telenor, and welfare technology plays a key role in this sector. “Telenor drives innovation with the help of its partners, cooperating with organisations that have the industry expertise, passion and ability to develop solutions based on the true requirements of the healthcare sector”, explains Johan Ivarson, CEO of Telenor Objects.

“There are all sorts of different sensors available on the market today, and development occurs rapidly in this field. However, this is the first solution to allow all information to be collated and compared with the aim of identifying the patterns that need to be changed for each patient. Communication via telephone and mobile devices plays a pivotal role in the ability to collect this information”, says Ivarson.

For more information, please contact:

• Johan Ivarson, CEO of Telenor Objects, tel. +47 928 22 403, johan.ivarson@telenor.com
• Jan Ivar Borgersen, CEO of Visma Unique AS, tel. +47 905 48 745, jan.ivar.borgersen@visma.com

Download presentation of study/slide deck from MWC2013

176 million children online in 2017

BCG calculates that a total of 176 million children will be online by 2017 in Telenor’s 11 markets plus Russia, and the majority of these children will be using a mobile device as their first point of access. Children today are “digital natives”, as they take for granted the presence of technology in their lives. They increasingly use the Internet as a tool for communication, education, entertainment and self-expression, new opportunity and skills in their daily lives. Along with the benefits, the Internet may also expose children to harmful content, harassment or other situations in which they become victims.

Building resilience

“We see that the benefits of the Internet far outweigh the harm that can result, but we cannot afford to be complacent. We commissioned this study in an effort to increase transparency about risks to youth that result from increased access, while simultaneously analyzing the best ways to deal with this from a telecom perspective. Our conclusion is that resilience building is the most effective means to prepare youth to face the online world,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group.

Key findings from study

• Increase of 100 million online children by 2017 (in Telenor’s 11 markets plus Russia); 85 million of these will use a mobile device as their first access point.
• More than 14 million children (in 12 markets) may potentially be exposed to harmful online content and as many as 35 million (in 12 markets) children may have experienced some form of cyber bullying.
• Telenor markets exposed to greatest online risks also have greatest resilience: Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
• Telenor markets least exposed to online risks also have least resilience: Bangladesh and Pakistan.

“In this study, we have defined resilience as a child’s ability to be exposed to risk without harm, and to cope and recover faster if harm occurs. Factors such as education levels, online experience over time and a country’s institutional strength in protecting its citizens all contribute to the resilience of an individual. While the legal framework in the country is an important starting point, the study concludes that more is required in order to reduce risk, and, in particular, increase resilience among youth,” said Knut Haanæs, the Global Leader of BCG’s Strategy Practice.

“We need the parents, the educators, the civil servants, as well as the service providers to work together to help reduce risks and build resilience in our youth,” said Baksaas. “We see the telco as a significant contributor to reducing harm, and Telenor intends to take a strong position, invite broad cooperation and contribute to the development of mitigating actions to reduce online risks for youth in all our markets.”

Contact

Meera Bhatia, Communications Manager, Telenor Group: +47 46844959, email meera.bhatia@telenor.com

“We see a great potential in an open Web-based operating system. With HTML5 at the core of every feature on this phone, you remove barriers to development that are common with existing mobile ecosystems. This opens the door to the wide community of developers, who now have an opportunity to contribute to a new kind of smartphone,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, CEO of Telenor.

More developers, more applications, better experience

Telenor is committed to spreading the mobile Internet among its customers. By embracing Mozilla’s open Web platform, Telenor aims to give more customers a high quality mobile Internet experience, complete with applications that are tailored to local needs. Development for the phone is in the hands of many, ultimately enriching the experience for the customer.

“The cooperation with Mozilla is yet another initiative originating from Telenor Digital Services. We are engaging local developer communities in our markets in order to stimulate development of locally relevant, useful apps and to raise awareness of this new open operating system. We want to bring the smartphone experience to more customers, and by offering an affordable device, with rich and locally relevant apps, we expect to see Firefox OS-based phones serving as a stimulus for data growth in our markets,” added Baksaas.

“Telenor has been a dedicated partner in bringing Firefox OS to its realization,” said Gary Kovacs, CEO Mozilla. “Our companies share a common vision of open Web devices powering the mobile experience. We are excited that individuals in Serbia, Montenegro and Hungary will be among the earliest to experience Firefox OS and contribute to its evolution.”

Built by the community

Telenor, along with the Mozilla community and more than a dozen global operators, is an active participant in the development of the Firefox OS through the sharing of its engineering resources. Firefox OS is built entirely upon open Web standards, and every feature for the phone can be developed as an HTML5 application.

For further information

Atle Lessum, Chief Communication officer Telenor Digital Services, (+47) 415 05 645, al@telenor.com

About Mozilla

Mozilla has been a pioneer and advocate for the Web for more than a decade. We create and promote open standards that enable innovation and advance the Web as a platform for all. Today, hundreds of millions of people worldwide use Mozilla Firefox to discover, experience and connect to the Web on computers, tablets and mobile phones. For more information please visit https://www.mozilla.org/mwc.

“For the full year 2012, organic revenue growth was 5%, EBITDA margin improved notably from last year and operating cash flow exceeded NOK 20 billion. During the year, we have invested heavily to improve user experience and prepare for increased efficiency and continued growth,” Baksaas said.

“The continued solid performance by our Norwegian operation reflects high demand for both mobile and fixed line Internet services. Introduction of new offerings and investment in superior network quality   provide our customers with the best services, coverage, capacity and the latest mobile technology. The Asian operations have demonstrated another year of high margins. We see smartphone and data demand picking up in Thailand and Malaysia as well as steady operational improvements in Pakistan,” Baksaas said.

Dividend and Outlook

“As a result of the strong operating results and a solid financial position, the Board of Directors proposes a dividend per share of NOK 6.00 for 2012, an increase of 20% compared to 2011,” Baksaas said.

“For 2013, we expect revenue growth in the range of 3-5% and EBITDA margin around 34%. We now see the opportunity to accelerate investments to capture market positions and expect capex/sales in the range of 12-14%. Our solid position and strong momentum makes me confident that Telenor Group will continue to create value for our shareholders and customers,” Baksaas said.

Key figures

The table below contains key figures for the fourth quarter and full year of 2012, compared to the previous year.

¹ Adjusted operating profit is defined as Operating profit less other income and expenses and impairment losses.

² Operating cash flow is defined as EBITDA before other income and expenses – Capex, excluding licences and spectrum

³ Net interest-bearing liabilities is defined as interest-bearing debt excluding net present value of licence liabilities.

For more information please refer to the quarterly report at http://telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q4/.

Contact:
Scott Engebrigtsen, Communication manager, Tel: +4790043484, E-mail: scott@telenor.com
Meera Bhatia, Communications Manager, Tel: +4746844959, E-mail: meera.bhatia@telenor.com

To the editorial offices:
Press and analyst conference
In connection with the publication of the financial results, a press and analyst conference will be held on Wednesday 13 February 2013 at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium A, Telenor Expo Visitors’ Centre, at the Telenor Headquarters at Fornebu outside Oslo. President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Richard Olav Aa will present the results. All presentations will be given in English.

Internet and mobile broadcast
The press and analyst conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will be made available on http://telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q4/. During the live transmission, written questions may be submitted via the Internet. The conference will also be available live, and in a recorded version, on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +472440 from abroad.

Conference call and Q&A
The press and analyst conference will also be available as a conference call. This service also allows participants to ask questions at a concluding Q&A session, which will be held immediately after the presentation and a brief Q&A session in the auditorium. Please register well in advance on (+47)23184545, and state your name and company to an automatic voicemail followed by # (pound sign). For the Q&A session: to queue up for questions please press *1.

Materials
English language versions of the full quarterly report and all presentations used during the press and analyst conference will be made available at http://telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q4/.

Internet and mobile broadcast

The press and analysts conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and will also be available as a recording after the conference. The live service also allows for written questions to be submitted. In addition, the conference will be available live and as a recording on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +47 2440 from abroad. For more details please visit http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q4/.

Conference Call and Q&A

You may also call in and listen to the presentation over the phone. This service allows you to ask questions at the Q&A session at the end of the presentation. For details, see http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q4/. To participate in the Conference Call please register before the conference starts by calling (+47) 23184545.

Material

The quarterly report and English versions of the presentations will be made available on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q4/.

Contacts:

Media:

Scott Engebrigtsen, Communication Manager, tel.: (+ 47) 90 04 34 84, e-mail: scott@telenor.com

Analysts and investors:

Marianne Moe, Head of IR, tel..: (+47) 67 89 26 56 or (+47) 91 61 76 31

Revenue for the music industry

‘We already cooperate closely with Telenor and now we are increasing this cooperation so that we bring WiMP and music to an even larger audience. This agreement is of great significance in establishing streaming as part of everyday life and ensuring even more revenue for the music industry,’ says Per Einar Dybvik, the Managing Director of WiMP Norway.

WiMP is, as always, investing in its own strong editorial team who work to show what is going on in the Norwegian and international music worlds. There are now over 20 million songs in the WiMP music archive.

Norway at the forefront

‘Norway is one the world’s leading markets in the expansion of music streaming services and we know that many of our customers will appreciate that both Telenor and djuice offering music as part of their subscription service. WiMP will be included in some subscriptions, while it will be possible to get WiMP as an add-on service for others,’ says Stein-Erik Vellan, director for Consumer Mobile Market at Telenor Norway.

Vellan adds that Telenor’s mobile network offers reliable streaming of new services such as film and music streaming. As the only operator in Norway, Telenor has launched 4G mobile services.

‘Telenor’s mobile network traditionally distinguishes itself through good coverage and high speeds. And with our recent launch of 4G on your mobile, it’s lightning quick,’ says Stein-Erik Vellan.

In conjunction with a major revision to djuice service packages, the add-on service +WiMP is being launched today and can be added to most fixed-price subscriptions offered by djuice.

Facts about Telenor’s investment in music

History: Telenor spotted the opportunities for digital distribution of music early. The company was the first telecoms business in Norway to invest in developing solutions for legal digital distribution of music via mobile phone. Telenor launched the first music store on mobile phones in 2004.

After a cautious start, sales figures increased rapidly in 2007 and 2008. Telenor’s investment in music took another major step in 2009 when Platekompaniet and Telenor launched a completely new music store on the web.

WiMP: In 2010, a radical shift in the way people listened to music took place when Aspiro, Platekompaniet and Telenor launched WiMP. Where we had been used to buying our music piecemeal, now you could buy access to an enormous music archive.

You can stream music to your PC, tablet or mobile phone using WiMP. Music streams across your wireless network at home and, when you step outside, WiMP switches seamlessly to the mobile network – without you noticing a thing. Thanks to WiMP, customers can have millions of songs in their pockets. This has become the new every day reality of music.

Guaranteed income: With WiMP, people now have a great option for the legal digital distribution of music. Telenor are proud and pleased to have been involved in developing the solutions that guarantee income for artists and rights holders – and that distributes music to our customers regardless of which device they want to use to enjoy their music.

For further information, please contact:

Telenor: Information Manage, Anders Krokan, 95209037, anders.krokan@telenor.com

“I am impressed that TSBc has taken such an important position in the market, whilst at the same time renewing their fleet of satellites. The last addition is the THOR 7 satellite, which will be ready for operation as of 2014. I look forward to taking over the lead of the company, and I am delighted for the opportunity to work with such motivated and highly skilled employees. I would also like to thank Cato Halsaa for the dedication and hard work he has invested in TSBc, which has contributed to a company well positioned for future growth,” says Mr. Tengs.

Morten Tengs has since June 2011 been a part of Telenor Group’s regional management team in Asia, and is today also member of the board at dtac, DiGi, Telenor Pakistan and Grameenphone. Mr. Tengs has been part of the Telenor Group since 1995 and has held a number of executive positions in, amongst others, Telenor Global Services, Telenor Corporate Development and Telenor Satellite Services. Mr. Tengs is a graduated engineer from AiD (Grimstad, Norway), and holds a Master degree in Economics, from the Norwegian business School BI.

A photo of Morten Tengs can be downloaded here.

Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc)

TSBc is the leading satellite operator in the Nordic region and a major provider of satellite communication services. TSBc has achieved phenomenal success in consistently delivering quality TV broadcasting services across Europe. TSBc owns and operates satellites THOR5 and THOR6, positioned at 1ºWest, and owns high-powered capacity on the THOR 10 02 satellite at the same position. Together, the satellites encompass a broad coverage area throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Transmitting nearly 700 TV channels and hundreds of radio stations, 1ºWest is a prime position for content distribution and turnaround services in the Nordic Region and throughout Europe, specifically Central and Eastern Europe. TSBc has also moved its Thor III satellite to 4°West and established inclined-service operations throughout the Middle East. TSBc is operating teleports in Norway, the UK and Sweden, and has an advanced data network between this teleports. In the period 2008-2013 TSBc invested 4 billion NOK, amongst others in the new satellite THOR 7, to be launched in 2014. THOR 7 will cover the North Sea, parts of the Barents Sea, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The company has its headquarters at the Telenor offices at Fornebu outside Oslo. TSBc is 100% owned by Telenor Broadcast Holding AS.

Contact

Jørgen Thaule, Director communications & CR, Telenor Broadcast, Telephone: +47 91559607, Email: jorgen.thaule@telenor.com

“When you run a small or medium-sized company, most of your time is spent on working hard to please your own customers. Hence it is important to choose a mobile company that promises secures you its best prices so that you can spend time on things that mean something to you and your company,” says Cecilie Vanem, Dipper’s managing director.

Easier everyday use

As the first mobile company in the business market, Dipper has removed lock-in periods and violation fees for all subscriptions. In addition, the company offers low prices to everyone, which means that customers instantly get the best prices, without having to negotiate. The aim is that the customer should not have to worry about surprises on his or her bill, and instead spend time on what matters to the business.

“We have great respect for the dedication and perseverance it takes to run small and medium-sized enterprises. For us, these are our most important and attractive customers, and we look forward to providing them with the framework and the service they deserve. The response from our first beta customers has been good and it seems that many would welcome a new mobile company such as Dipper to the market,”says Vanem.

Free as a bird

The goal for the new company is crystal clear. As a result of an attractive subscription with no lock-in periods, Dipper wants customers who are so satisfied, they want to recommend the company to others. On dipper.no, the company will make its clients visible and present some of the impressive stories behind these small and medium-sized enterprises.

“By opting against binding and break-clause fees, we ensure that we always have to work hard to deliver the best solutions, and that we must constantly innovate to provide our customers real value for choosing to be Dipper customers. We want customers to want to be with us, but if someone is not satisfied they may of course go elsewhere – whenever they want,”says Vanem.

The name Dipper derives from a brave small bird that dives into ice cold water at minus 20 degrees Celsius in the search for food to survive.

“Small and medium-sized businesses in Norway have the same traits. Some 99.5 percent of all Norwegian companies have fewer than 100 employees and these enterprises are our heroes! They are brave and work to the fullest every day. Dipper’s aim is to have satisfied customers who always choose to land with us even if they are free as a bird,”concludes Vanem.

About Dipper

Dipper is a small Norwegian mobile company with many advantages and large ambitions to simplify each business day for small and medium-sized enterprises. With lower prices for all and combined with an attractive mobile subscription without lock-in obligations. Dipper plans to make the rules within the mobile market easier so that customers can focus on more important things. The company is owned by Telenor and has about 20 employees. With the support of Norway’s largest telecommunications company Dipper clients are guaranteed Telenor’s good 2G, 3G and 4G coverage.

Please contact

Cecilie Vanem, Dipper, Mobile:  +47 411 00 009 or E-mail:  cecilie@dipper.no

http://www.dipper.no

Fighting digital bullying with dialogue

”Digital and hidden bullying can hit hard, and a joke or a picture published online can quickly turn into a massive hate campaign. Every day thousands of Norwegian children and youths are bullied or teased on digital platforms, and the tendency is increasing in line with the increase in the use of smartphones and social media. That is why it is completely obvious to us that we must continue the fight against digital bullying,” Telenor Norge CEO, Berit Svendsen, says.

Telenor, The Norwegian Media Authority, the Red Cross and Kids and Media have been working together since 2009 to fight digital bullying through the dialogue based attitude campaign, Use Your Head. The campaign is arming children and adults with good tools and advice to prevent and fight digital bullying, and with good results. Telenor’s new survey shows that six out of ten children who have taken part in the Use Your Head attitude campaign now have knowledge they need to be able to handle bullying online and on mobile phones.

Support from the Government

The Norwegian Government has supported the Use Your Head tour ever since its launch in 2009.

”Preventative work is extremely important for the safe use of digital media, especially when young people increasingly use new channels that trigger new forms of bullying. Use Your Head is a great example of how preventative dialogue and good tools give results. The government is also very much committed to this area through our 2011 Manifest Against Bullying. We are committed to work to ensure that all children and youths have a good childhood and learning environments with zero tolerance for bullying,” Culture Minister, Hadia Tajik, says.

The Norwegian Media Authority has been an important contributor to the Use Your Head tour, both through their competence and with finances, and the sharing of knowledge is helping. Telenor’s survey shows that eight out of ten children now know that it is illegal to publish pictures without permission from the person in the picture.

”It is very positive that Use Your Head results in that the participators get enough knowledge to be able to avoid digital bullying. Through this campaign we constantly see a correlation between an increase in knowledge and a reduction in the misuse of digital platforms. This shows that our advice is working,” Director of Norwegian Media Authority, Tom Thoresen says.

One out of ten children bullied out of their class

According to Telenor’s survey one out of ten children have considered switching their school class as a result of digital bullying. The survey also shows that eight out of ten children know there are adults they can talk to, yet more than half feel it is hard to tell someone if they have experienced digital bullying.

”There are far too many children who wish to switch classes and who dread going to school every single day. It is important to the Red Cross to be able to contribute to safe environments for children and youths to grow up in. “Kors på Halsen” [Cross my Heart] is the Red Cross’ offer to children and youths to talk, call, email or chat with an adult no matter what they want to talk about. At “Kors på Halsen” we also get a lot of messages every week about bullying, and together with the numbers from Telenor’s survey we see that we still have a large and important job to do,” Secretary General at the Red Cross, Åsne Havnelid, says.

Parents fear digital communication

The survey shows that nearly nine out of ten parents believe new ways of communicating online and on mobile phones can contribute to making bullying more common. 37 percent say they have little control of what their children are doing on their mobile phone or online.

”Children and youths use their mobiles and the internet considerably more after the rise of the smartphone. This makes it easier to hide the bullying from adults and makes it harder for parents to keep track of their children’s digital lives. That’s why the main focus of this campaign is the dialogue between adults and children,” Managing Director at Kids and Media, Merethe Clausen Moe, says.

The Use Your Head campaign consists of two main parts, in the daytime for pupils and in the evening for parents. At the end of spring 2013 the tour will have visited 400 schools, nearly 120,000 pupils and 22,000 parents.

Youths use bullying filter on their mobile phones

As part of the campaign against digital bullying, Telenor has developed a bullying filter aimed at blocking the bullies out from your mobile. Experience shows many are in need of this service.

”We are aiming to contribute to establish a healthy set of norms and values among the users of digital services. In the long run we therefore hope the need of the bullying filter and similar services will disappear. So far, however, there is no doubt there is a need for it, and that many need extra protection. The bullying filter contributes in an important and concrete way,” Berit Svendsen says.

For more information, please contact:
Ana Brodtkorb, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Telenor, tel +47 902 09 832, or email: ana.brodtkorb@telenor.com

Astrid Arnslett, Media Advisor at the Red Cross, tel +47 22 05 40 47 / 932 86 460, or email: astrid.arnslett@redcross.no

Pia Kristine Lang, Project Manager for the Norwegian Media Authority, tel +47 915 55 029, or email: pia.lang@medietilsynet.no

Merethe Clausen Moe, Managing Director at Kids and Media, tel +47 932 26 309, or email: merethe@barnevakten.no

Also visit www.brukhue.com for more information.

Mutual cooperation, satisfying working conditions

The agreement between Telenor and UNI promotes trusting relationships between employees, their representatives and the companies within Telenor Group, through mutual cooperation and satisfying working conditions.  It also establishes mutual understandings about the process of unionization among Telenor employees.  The two parties will meet at least once a year, and have committed themselves to maintaining an ongoing dialogue.

“We look forward to building this relationship with Telenor.   Together, I believe that we can continually improve the work environment.  UNI looks forward to sharing our experience with employees and their representatives when it comes to unionization,” said Philip Jennings, UNI General Secretary. “We currently work with 47 multi-national companies to help raise standards and ensure respect for people in the workplace.”

Telenor and UNI respect the rights of all employees to exercise freedom of association, no matter where they work around the world.  The management, employees and their representatives are jointly responsible for developing good industrial relations based on mutual respect.

Asian and European employees can seek guidance from UNI

“If our local employees in Asia, seek to form a union, it is Telenor’s policy to offer support. They will now have an opportunity to seek guidance and knowledge from UNI. We see this as empowerment of employees,” said Sigve Brekke, Head of Telenor in Asia.

“The agreement with UNI will serve to strengthen our open and constructive dialogue between employees, union representatives and management. With UNI on board, our employees and their unions will now have more resources at their disposal,” said Kjell Morten Johnsen, Head of Telenor in Europe.

Read more about UNI Global Union

Contact:
Tor Odland, Vice President, Telenor Group Media, tel.: (+47) 990 90 872, e-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

Richard Elliott, Director of Communications, UNI global union, tel.: +41 79 794 9709, e-mail: richard.elliott@uniglobalunion.org

“We have chosen Telenor as our supplier of telecom and data services confident that we are receiving high quality, stable technical solutions and services. In addition, the contract pertains to five countries and will significantly simplify our daily administration, resulting in lower costs,” said Øyvind Apelland, Nets Group Executive Vice President IT.

“Safe and effective communication is an important requirement supporting our strategic goals. We believe that Telenor will enable this and we are looking forward to strengthening our cooperation,” Apelland concluded.

“Being a global company with strong presence in the Nordics, we understand the needs of other businesses with international ambitions, and we have capabilities to meet them. Our state of the art networks combined with innovative communication solutions, and centralized contract and service management are important parts of our regional offering,” says Thomas L. Kraft, Head of Sales and Support, Nordic Enterprise Sales, Telenor Group.

“Nets has been a valued customer of Telenor in Norway for many years.  We are now extremely pleased to have been given the opportunity to expand our cooperation further, from serving Nets in a single market to becoming their total telecom supplier in five European countries,” Kraft added.

Telenor’s Nordic Enterprise Sales unit was established in March 2012, as a Centre of Excellence to serve multinational corporations with cross-border requirements in an integrated manner.

About Nets
Nets is an IT company specialising in managing digital values through the delivery of strategic consulting and IT solutions. We enable a more efficient society and optimise our customers’ business through the way we handle money, information and identities digitally. We have one of the most extensive and innovative product portfolios in Europe and our ambition is to become an even stronger partner to our customers by supporting their business, nationally as well as internationally. Nets has 2,700 employees in Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Estonia and a yearly turnover of EUR 850 million. Find out more at www.nets.eu.

Contacts:

Tor Odland, Head of Group Media, Telenor Group, +47 990 90 872, e-mail:tor.odland@telenor.com

Søren Winge, Press Officer, Nets, + 45 29 48 26 46 or e-mail: swing@nets.eu

“AgriKjøp consists of a variety of different companies, from major industrial concerns to small companies, who have different needs and challenges. The new agreement gives the companies a simpler solution with a package of voice and data services, and also facilitates the use of other communications solutions from Telenor and their partners. At the same time, the agreement means less administration and reduced costs for our member companies,” says Gunnar Vandvik, Director for Agreements and System Development at AgriKjøp AS.

In addition, AgriKjøp and Telenor intend to add new services to the present telephony framework, including the unified communications service ‘Telenor Samordnet kommunikasjon’ and Lync.

New Opportunities for Cooperation

“AgriKjøp is an exciting and important customer that challenges Telenor in many areas and this agreement opens up new opportunities for cooperation. We are very pleased to be part of the continued efforts to add value to the members of the Federation of Norwegian Agricultural Co-operatives through delivering services that strengthen their market competitiveness,” says Bjørn Ivar Moen, Telenor Norway’s manager of the business market.

“A long term agreement over three years gives us the opportunity to concentrate our efforts on offering good solutions and consultancy that are valuable for the individual member companies,” says Moen.

For further information, please contact:
Kristin V. Tønnessen, Telenor Norway’s PR Manager, Tel. 934 80 648, kvt@telenor.com

Gunnar Vandvik, Director for Agreements and System Development at AgriKjøp AS, Tel. 22 05 71 13, gunnar.vandvik@agrikjop.no

Studies show that less than 5% of the population in many Asian countries currently have any insurance, yet the low and middle income market face significant risks on a daily basis. By combining simplified products and rapid claims payment with the convenience of transacting over the mobile phone, MicroEnsure has rapidly reached millions of subscribers in Asia and Africa.

“Our joint venture with MicroEnsure opens up an exciting new area for Telenor to

develop, and gives access to insurance coverage for a whole new customer segment. MicroEnsure is a good match for Telenor. Their range of products reaches more than four million customers in Africa and Asia, and they have broad experience in low cost operations,” said Abraham Foss, Head of Financial Services in Telenor. Financial Services is organized as a business division within Telenor Digital Services.

MicroEnsure was established in 2008 as a subsidiary of Opportunity International, a non-profit microfinance organisation that provides financial products and services for those living in poverty in the developing world.

MicroEnsure CEO, Richard Leftley commented that “Telenor is an exciting strategic partner for us given their strong footprint in especially the Asian region. There is significant interest from most mobile network operators to provide financial services and specifically insurance. This will enable MicroEnsure to continue its significant growth.” Since 2008, MicroEnsure has expanded to provide insurance products to over four million active client across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

In conjunction with this joint venture, MicroEnsure today announced that it has expanded its shareholder base to include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Omidyar Network and MicroEnsure management as strategic shareholders. This is done to provide the capital and relationships needed to continue the group’s rapid expansion. Founding investor, Opportunity International US, will maintain a minority shareholding in the newly formed MicroEnsure Holdings Limited.

For further information:

MicroEnsure: David Dorey, Communication Manager
tel: +44 1242 526 836 or info@microensure.com

Telenor: Atle Lessum, Head of communication Telenor Digital Services,
tel +47 415 05 645, al@telenor.com

The contract includes the provision of telephony services, both in terms of subscriptions and communications for landlines and mobile phones, as well as communications solutions, such as a mobile business network and unified communication. This contract is Telenor’s largest telephony agreement in Norway.

“For the health authorities, the objective of this agreement is to gain greater cost effectiveness  and flexibility when it comes to telephony services. as well as ensure a stable and reliable voice solution. In addition, it is important that the health authorities have communications solutions that help streamline their organisations. Telenor’s service model, its expertise in telephony and its commitment to the health sector were among the key reasons they were chosen,” said Trond Skorstad, Advisor at HINAS.

Important Health Initiative

For Telenor, the health sector is an important focus area, not only in terms of telephony, but also in terms of collaboration solutions and welfare technology. In cooperation with various partners and through pilot projects, the company has developed communications solutions that help to modernise and increase the effectiveness of the health sector.

“Cooperation with the health authorities is the cornerstone of our health focus. We look forward to exciting projects, better collaboration and more effective work processes in healthcare. At the same time, we want to serve as an advisor for the healthcare sector, and in that vein we plan to continue organising professional conferences for the health authorities,” said Telenor’s manager of the business market Bjørn Ivar Moen.

The agreement commences on January 15th and will last for two years with an option for a further two years renewal. Telenor’s subcontractors in the agreement are Kjedehuset, SmartPhones, Linus, NewLearning and 1881.

For further information, please contact:

Telenor Norway’s PR Manager, Kristin V. Tønnessen, Tel. 934 80 648, kvt@telenor.com

Adviser at HINAS, Trond Skorstad, Tel. 952 15 199, sktr@hinas.no

Mr. Vivek Sood comes from the position as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Indian mobile operator Uninor. With more than 42 million subscribers, Uninor is one of the fastest growing mobile operators in India. As CFO of Uninor, Mr .Sood was responsible for setting performance measures and achieving financial goals. His 22 year of experience also include executive positions in companies like Tata AIG life Insurance, Hutchison Telecom, Tupperware India and Hindustan Lever Limited (Unilever).

“Throughout my career I have always been driven by a hunger and passion to build business. I am therefore delighted and pleased to be offered the opportunity to head Grameenphone, the leading telecom operator in Bangladesh, and one of the country’s most recognized brands. I look forward to working with the employees in developing the company further to benefit customers, employees and the Bangladeshi community,” said Vivek Sood, appointed CEO of Grameenphone.

Vivek Sood will succeed Tore Johnsen who has served as CEO of Grameenphone since March 2011. As part of a planned operational move when reaching his retirement age (65), Tore Johnsen will extend his significant career by taking up new challenges as Senior Vice President at the Telenor Group region Asia office in Bangkok. Mr. Tore Johnsen has vast and extensive experience from heading mobile operations in 4 different Asian markets – Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan and Bangladesh. With his comprehensive experience, Mr. Johnsen represents a strong and knowledgeable capability that will benefit Telenor Group’s continued development in the Asian region.

“The Board of Directors would like to thank Tore Johnsen for his dedication to Grameenphone. Under his leadership the company has continued its good performance, secured renewed licenses for 15 more years of operation, and made significant progress towards the vision of “Digital Bangladesh” by bringing internet to masses, especially youth segment and students,” said Sigve Brekke.

“I feel privileged and honored for my time as CEO of Grameenphone. During my tenure I have had the experience of working with a competent management team and very talented employees. Together we have developed Grameenphone as a customer centric company that is highly competitive and ideally positioned for future growth. I wish Vivek all the best,” said Tore Johnsen.

A photo of Mr. Sood may be downloaded here

Contacts:
Glenn Mandelid, Telenor Asa, tlf.: +66 824401122, email: glenn.mandelid@www.www.telenor.com
Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications, Mobile: +47 9909 0872, E-mail: tor.odland@www.www.telenor.com

Telenor Norway will, in cooperation with Telenor Business Internet Services (Telenor’s cloud services company), be the first to offer the solution to its business customers. The agreement means that they will receive two professional business solutions as a single integrated package: Telenor’s mobile business network “Mobilt Bedriftsnett” and Microsoft Office 365, with voice included. Telenor will launch Office 365 in January 2013 and expects to have the solution for voice integration ready for the market during the fourth quarter of 2013.

“Through this agreement, we are expanding our provision of cloud computing services with a solution that covers the communication needs of companies in one single package. We think this will satisfy a market need that is currently not being met,” says Telenor’s manager of the business market Bjørn Ivar Moen.

Considerable interest

“We are delighted that Telenor is launching a service that brings together the best of both our worlds,” says Dagfinn Ringås, director of business and partners at Microsoft Norway.

“With Telenor’s telephony services fully integrated into Lync Online and Office 365, companies will be able to optimise their telecomms, collaboration and IT infrastructure. We have already seen considerable interest amongst customers for this type of solution in the markets where Telenor will be launching the service,” says Ringås.

Accessible

The use of cloud services makes it easier to establish and introduce new solutions in a business as they do not require large investments or extensive internal technical projects. The company will always have the latest updated version and will avoid having to worry about the security and operation of the service. This is taken care of in the cloud by the supplier.

The two business solutions, Mobilt Bedriftsnett and Office 365, are accessible in the cloud and run by the Telenor and Microsoft data centres. This enables economies of scale and the solution will be equally accessible to all companies regardless of size.

“We have long experience of delivering both voice and data services over the internet. Examples include security solutions, messaging services, central switchboards and PABX solutions (Public Automatic Branch Exchange),” says Bjørn Ivar Moen.

“Today, we have more than two million customers in Norway who use our cloud services on a daily basis. The fact that software and applications can now also be supplied as cloud services creates entirely new opportunities for integration with telecommunication services. Telenor’s most important emphasis within cloud-based services is on adding value to our partners’ applications alongside our own communication services, particularly within mobility and collaboration,” says Moen.

Telenor and Microsoft go back a long way together and the development within Unified Communication in particular has brought the two companies even closer together. They now cooperate in a variety of areas and on many different levels.

For further information, please contact:
PR Manager at Telenor Norway, Kristin V. Tønnessen, Tel. 934 80 648, kvt@telenor.com
Director of Communications at Microsoft, Christine Korme, Tel. 918 25 519, ckorme@microsoft.com

Watch the webcast of Telenor’s India update here

Telenor

• Aims to be best in mass market distribution, best in servicing basic, best in low cost operations
• Confirms operating cash flow breakeven end of 2013
• Committed to INR 155 billion peak funding
• Targets above 25% equity return on new money invested in India

“The decision by India’s Supreme Court in February to revoke all our licenses took the entire industry by surprise and we were faced with an intense period of uncertainty for the next 10 months,’’ said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, Telenor Group Chief Executive Officer and President. “An extraordinary turnaround operation followed and very early on we left no doubt about our intentions to stay and secure our future operations in India. Telenor has a growth strategy and we consider India to be one of the world’s biggest growth markets for many years to come.”

India’s future growth engine

The Indian operations already enjoy decent market positions in terms of subscriber and revenue market share in all six circles and plan to further improve this in the coming years by taking a number 2-3 position in the clusters where we are present. Telenor’s cost per minute in India is already below incumbents’.

Telenor has the potential to reach every second person in India, after securing its license to operate in six telecom circles. These circles are home to more than 600 million people. The circles are among the most populous regions in the country and strong economic growth is expected to continue. The footprint also has the lowest mobile penetration in India; with real penetration estimated to around 40% at the end of 2012. This represents a significant growth opportunity in terms of acquiring new subscribers and there is significant room for growth in basic voice services.

Telenor announced last month that Uttar Pradesh East became its first circle to achieve break-even, three years after the launch. The company expects its remaining circles to begin achieving the break-even targets in the months to come and Gujarat and Maharashtra are expected to break even in early 2013.

Telenor has secured 5 MHz spectrum UP East, UP West, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the recently concluded auctions. In combination with the planned business transfer from Uninor to a new entity, this allows Telenor’s India operations to continue seamlessly in the new company for a period of 20 years.

“We are ready to move forward in India,” said Sigve Brekke, Managing Director of Telenor’s Indian operations. “We will continue to position our brand as the best price on local voice, to drive subscriber growth and increase customer loyalty in India as part of our continuous efforts of cost efficiency. Our operations are built around people, and it is the courage and strength of our employees that will drive our future growth and development and further broaden our distribution network. ”

Contacts:

Media:

Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications, Mobile: +47 9909 0872, E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

Analysts and investors:
Marianne Moe,  Head of IR, Telenor Group, Mobile: +47 916 17 631 , e-mail: marianne.moe@telenor.com

You will have the opportunity and are encouraged to ask questions during the Q&A session. Our executives will be available for further comments for a limited time period after the presentation.

The presentation will be held in English.

Internet and mobile broadcast

The press and analysts presentation will be broadcast live over the Internet, and will also be available as a recording after the conference. The live service also allows for written questions to be submitted. In addition, the conference will be available live and as a recording on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +47 2440 from abroad.

Conference Call and Q&A

You may also call in and listen to the presentation over the phone. This service allows you to ask questions at the Q&A session at the end of the presentation. To participate in the Conference Call please register before the conference starts by calling (+47) 23184545.

Material

The presentation will be available on our website from 08:00 CET /07:00 UK time on 14 December 2012: http://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/

Further information:

Tor Odland, Telenor Group Communications, tel:  +47 99090872, e-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

“4G is data. But from today we are opening up for both speech and web surfing for everyone with 4G mobile phones on Telenor’s network. This has been made possible by introducing an automatic solution which gives our customers speech on the 3G network while you surf the internet on the 4G network with your mobile phone. When your conversation is over you automatically return to the 4G network and can continue surfing without your data session stopping. We are the first in Norway to offer this solution,” says Berit Svendsen, managing director of Telenor Norway.

This year’s best Christmas present

Telenor’s 4G adventure (fourth-generation mobile network) in Norway began two months ago, when 11 cities and towns received 4G coverage. Since the opening, expansion has continued at a rapid pace and even more Norwegians will have 4G from Telenor by Christmas. The Telenor 4G network in Drammen, Fredrikstad, Sarpsborg, Skien, Porsgrunn and Kristiansand will open then. In the New Year Telenor will also introduce 4G in Tromsø – and the expansion race continues at an ambitious tempo.

“Since the launch of 4G in October our customers have been asking to surf at lightning speed with 4G on their mobiles as well. We have been working hard to find a solution to this, and it therefore pleases us greatly that we are now able to offer surfing and chat on the 4G network. This year’s best Christmas present – if you ask me,” Svendsen says.

Offensive mobile expansion

Telenor is conducting a fairly intense expansion and updating of the mobile network in Norway – an operation which is planned for completion by the end of 2015. In addition to expanding 4G throughout Norway Telenor is also conducting a high-intensity expansion of the 3G network.

“Ninety per cent of Telenor’s mobile customers have 3G coverage where they live, and the continuing expansion will ensure as much as 95 per cent coverage. By the end of 2015 nine out of 10 Norwegians will also be able to use 4G from Telenor,” says Berit Svendsen.

Download hi-res picture of Berit Svendsen.

For further information please contact:

Anders Krokan, Communication Manager, Telenor Norway
+47 95 20 90 37, anders.krokan@telenor.com

Bjørn Amundsen, Director of Coverage, Telenor Norway
+47 90 02 10 00, bjorn.amundsen@telenor.com

Telenor has strict internal rules and procedures on compliance with laws and regulations. Telenor will co-operate with the authorities in carrying out the investigation so that it can be conducted in an efficient manner. Besides this, Telenor has currently no further comments on this issue.

Contact:

Director of Communications, Telenor Norway, Torild Uribarri tel: +47 911 55 381, e-mail: torild.uribarri@telenor.com

“This is the latest in several major achievements, and of course, among the most crucial of all. I extend our gratitude to the millions of subscribers in India who have chosen Uninor over others. I am delighted to celebrate the first break-even circle in India – an achievement that starts the countdown towards a profitable Uninor,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of the Telenor Group.

In the six circles where fresh spectrum has been secured, Uninor serves over 30 million subscribers. At the time of achieving break-even, Uninor in UP East serves over 7.2 million customers. Uninor incurs a cost of 18 paisa per minute, the lowest among all operators in the circle. Its spectrum usage efficiency is 40% higher than all others.

“What makes this remarkable is that we are now profitable while offering highly competitive tariffs and managing to keep a strong market focus in an extremely challenging business and regulatory environment over the past year. I credit this achievement to the choice our customers, employees and business partners are making every day,” said Sigve Brekke, MD of Uninor and Head of Telenor Asia.

Telenor Group has secured 5 MHz spectrum UP East, UP West, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the recently concluded auctions. This allows Uninor operations to continue seamlessly in the new company for a period of 20 years. Together, these six circles account for over 50% of India’s population. With a mobile penetration as low as 40%, these circles represent the markets where the real future growth is happening. There are 95 mid-size cities in these six circles that have grown an average 37% over the past decade. Five of these have grown in triple digits.

Telenor Group expects its remaining circles to begin achieving the break-even targets in the months to come.

Contacts:

Tor Odland, Telenor Group, tlf.: +47 99090872, email: tor.odland@telenor.com

Glenn Mandelid, Telenor Asia, tlf.: +66 824401122, email: glenn.mandelid@telenor.com

‘Our partners are at the forefront in the development of solutions that provide positive efficiencies and environmental benefits. We are therefore proud to be presenting this year’s prize to Refsports. They have taken a day-to-day challenge and automated it so that everyday life is easier and more enjoyable for a large group of people,’ said Pål Normann Johansen, prize jury foreman and sales director of Partners at Telenor Business.

Easier, faster and more accurate

The coach of today has to complete a referee’s card for each match, using a pen and paper. During the match, the referee has to record match facts in all weathers. The match report is then completed manually and sent by post to the sporting body. Finally, the match report is checked manually by the sporting body. This is cumbersome and the margins of error are high. With Refsports’ data platform and the application RefSoccer, all this work is integrated into one system.

‘Referee cards with information about players, coaches and referees are completed via the website or via an app on your mobile phone. During the match, the referee has a display attached to his wrist, into which he enters goals, yellow and red cards, substitutions, free kicks and other things. This information goes straight to the central system of the appropriate sporting body via the cellular network. In this way, all match administration becomes far easier, faster and more accurate. You will also be able to keep up-to-date with the state of matches in play via the mobile app,’ said Martin Eikeland, founder and manager of Refsports.

‘It was overwhelming to receive this award given that we were in competition with major players such as TV2, NRK and Visma. We are a small team of six people with backgrounds in sporting clubs and organisations, IT and finance as well as the advertising agency Edison Wolfram. The prize will be a great help during further development. We particularly want to thank Innovation Norway and Connect Norway for their valuable support in the initial phase,’ said Eikeland.

Huge market potential

So far, Refsports has developed the product for football, but has plans to build further solutions for handball, ice hockey and volleyball using the same platform. A number of pilot projects have been conducted to test the solution during 2012. Amongst others, the mobile platform was tested during the Norway Cup and the Dana Cup. Telenor sees great potential in the solution.

‘The concept is innovative with a huge market potential, even globally. Within football, there are 27,000 teams just in Norway and there are 250 million players worldwide. We also believe that the solution has great potential for further development in a number of directions, not least in terms of using and integrating social media,’ said Telenor’s Pål Normann Johansen.

‘The solution works on mobile devices and is reliant on decent and robust mobile broadband. This is especially true in the case of fast transfers of pictures and also gradually videos. The solution is therefore well positioned to capitalise on the large investments we’ve made in the expansion of our 4G network, something that was a prerequisite for this year’s Partner Prize,’ said Normann Johansen.

In addition to Pål Normann Johansen, the jury consisted of Giert von der Lippe of Connect Norway, Torgeir Waterhouse of ICT Norway and Telenor Business marketing director Marina Lønning.
Illustrations:
Illustrations can be obtained from Refsports:
Martin Eikeland, manager of Refsports, Tel. 920 57 185, martin@refsports.com

For further information, please contact:
PR Manager of Telenor Norway, Kristin V. Tønnessen, Tel. 934 80 648, kvt@telenor.com
Manager of Refsports, Martin Eikeland, Tel. 920 57 185, martin@refsports.com
Read more about Refsports at www.refsports.com

“dSafe has already partnered with several major Norwegian retailers, and cooperates with Digipost on the distribution of the digital receipts. However, as a recipient of this prize, they will now get the opportunity for support from Telenor in expanding in Norway and beyond,” added Spilling.

Relevant for people’s lives

Digital Winners are selected based on how well they embody Telenor’s vision and values. Candidates for this prize should offer a service that inspires people to adopt digital lifestyles in a user-friendly way. dSafe has succeeded in creating a service that is relevant for people and adds convenience to their lives. It also enables a new link between the customer and the store in a digital arena.

“First of all I would like to thank Telenor for the prize. We have worked really hard to make a solution that’s easy to use for both customers and stores. The solution is very complex on our side, with a lot of integration with many partners to make this happen. With the help of all the attention we are getting from this prize, we can launch this service in the Nordic countries very soon,” said Daro Navaratnam, CEO and founder of dSafe.

Total of 44 applicants this year

This year, a total of 44 applicants from Sweden, Norway and Denmark competed for the Digital Winners Prize. From this pool of qualified contenders, the jury shortlisted the top five:

dSafe
iZettle – Swedish mobile payment company
Soundrop – Norwegian music service
iFrapp – Norwegian do-it-yourself app builder
Magine – Swedish cloud-based TV service

“Our strong list of candidates shows the exciting growth we are now experiencing in the digital services area. Next year, I hope that this list grows to become a truly Nordic prize, with even more applicants from Denmark and Finland especially,” said Spilling.

As a part of the Digital Winners Prize, dSafe will receive NOK 200,000 and the opportunity to further develop their business in cooperation with Telenor Digital Services.

Contact:

Atle Lessum, Head of Communication, Digital Services & Nordic, atle.lessum@telenor.com, phone: +47 415 05 645

“I am very pleased that Telenor Group has acquired the necessary spectrum to provide mobile services in India, as a continued presence in the country is important for our growth strategy. Since Telenor started operations in India we have proven our industrial capabilities by establishing a cost-efficient and highly competitive mobile operation with a significant customer base. The fresh licenses provide clarity for customers, operators and partners after a long period of uncertainty. We are looking forward to a more predictable and stable regulatory environment,” said Telenor Group President and CEO, Jon Fredrik Baksaas.

“Today we have won spectrum the 6 most populous circles in India. These are also the areas where we enjoy a strong position already, and where we see the highest potential for continued growth and profitability. All of these circles are about to deliver on the financial targets of becoming break-even in 2013,” said Sigve Brekke, Executive Vice President and Head of Telenor Group’s Asian Operations.

“The ten months of uncertainty after the license cancellation have tested the organization’s ability to keep focus, growth and talent intact. Emerging successful in that test means that a much stronger, confident and competitive team has now won back its right to continue. We have brought competition and affordability to the Indian telecom sector, and I promise that we will continue to do that in the future,” said Sigve Brekke.

Telenor will continue the process of transferring its business assets from Uninor into the new company in a way that is seamless for its remaining 34 million customers (TRAI figures). Telenor was not awarded spectrum in Mumbai, Kolkata and West Bengal. In these circles operations will cease in accordance with Indian law and regulations.

Telenor Group will invite media and analysts for a more detailed presentation at a later stage.

For further information:
Glenn Mandelid, Telenor Asia, tel: +66 82 440 1122
e-mail: glenn.mandelid@telenor.com

Dag Melgaard, Telenor Group, tel: +47 901 92 000
e-mail: dag.melgaard@telenor.com

Contact:
Glenn Mandelid, Telenor Asia, glenn.mandelid@telenor.com, +66 824401122

- iZettle; Sweden, mobile payments

- Soundrop; Norway, music service

- dSafe; Norway, digital receipts

- iFrapp; Norway, do-it-yourself app builder

- Magine; Sweden, cloud based TV services

5 contenders, 5 exciting service areas

“This award helps draw attention to digital services that are unique, innovative and relevant for people today. Our five nominees each address different needs and several exciting areas of development,” said Rolv-Erik Spilling, Chairman of the Digital Winner Prize Committee and the new Head of Telenor Digital Services.

“We have definitely felt the enthusiasm this year, and faced a tough choice in narrowing down the candidates. But we are confident that we’ve found the best of the best, and expect great things to come from all five of these digital superstars,” Spilling added.

Digital Winner awarded cash and collaboration

The five shortlisted candidates will have an opportunity to give the Digital Winner jury a more in-depth look at their business before a winner is decided. The Digital Winner prize comes with a cash award of 200,000 NOK, along with the opportunity to develop their product or service in cooperation with Telenor, for potential distribution in Telenor’s global operations. The jury bases its ultimate decision on finding the best representative of Telenor’s vision and values, due to its user-friendliness and ability to inspire consumers to take part in the digital world.

The Jury

The eight member jury is headed up by Rolv-Erik Spilling. Other members include Marie Nilsson, CEO Mediavison; Rikard Steiber, Global Marketing Director Mobile & Social, Google, San Francisco; Erling Maartman-Moe, Partner Alliance Venture; Morten Munk-Hansen, Digital Director Maxus Gobal; Georgi Ganev, CEO at Dustin Group; Sven Størmer Thaulow, CEO Telenor Comoyo AS; and Dagfinn Myhre, VP, Research and Future Studies, Telenor Group.

Digital Winner Seminar 2012

The Digital Winner Prize will be handed out at the Digital Winner Seminar, November 14-15, 2012, at Telenor’s Fornebu headquarters. The event will feature Rikard Steiber of Google, Rene Rechtman of AOL Advertisment, Steffen Kragh of Egmont, Peter Ekelund of HBO and many more.

Read more about the award and the jury here.

Read more about the seminar here.

Follow us on Facebook.

For further questions:

Atle Lessum, Head of communication Telenor Digital Services, +47 415 05 645, al@telenor.com

“Rolv-Erik Spilling has held many key positions in all parts of our value chain. His broad experience makes him an ideal candidate for developing new services, and combining traditional telecommunications services with the new and open Internet technologies. I am very pleased that he has accepted this responsibility and I expect great performances from him and the rest of the Digital Services team going forward,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, CEO and President of the Telenor Group.

“I am pleased to accept the challenge of leading Digital Services, and I will continue to work towards meeting the goals that have been set for me and the entire Digital Services team. In order to call our innovation efforts a success, we need to be adopted by a high number of customers and generate substantial new revenues. These two objectives form the basis of Telenor’s priorities in the Digital Services area,” said Rolv-Erik Spilling.

Rolv-Erik Spilling has been holding various positions in Telenor Norway before he became the Deputy Head in Telenor Digital Services in September 2011. He has acted as Chief Marketing Officer Business, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Services, IT and Technology. Spilling first joined Telenor in 2000. He received his MSc in Mathematics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

Broadcast reporting to Morten Karlsen Sørby

Following the management changes, EVP and Head of Group Strategy and Regulatory Affairs Morten Karlsen Sørby, has been appointed Chairman of both the Telenor Broadcast and the Telenor Media and Content Services (TMCS) units. Karlsen Sørby is also the present Chairman of Telenor Norway and he has earlier headed both the Telenor Group industrialisation efforts as well as the Nordic operations of Telenor.

“By assembling the business units Telenor Broadcast, TMCS and Telenor Norway under the chairmanship of Morten Karlsen Sørby, we open up for the possibility to further explore benefits across business units and develop our service offerings. Morten has a unique combination of operational experiences along with deep insight into our business models. I look forward to seeing the results under his leadership,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas.

Further information:
Tor Odland, Telenor Group Communications, tel: +47 990 90 972
E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

A photo can be downloaded here

Telewings has already applied for prequalification to participate in the upcoming spectrum auction. A final decision on whether to participate or not will be made before the auction starts.

Contacts:

Glenn Mandelid, Telenor Asia,Tel.: +668 2440 1122
e-mail: glenn.mandelid@telenor.com

Tor Odland, Group Communications, Tel: +47 9909 0872,
E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

As Telenor’s new partner, U2opia Mobile is sharing its “Facebook by Fonetwish” platform with Telenor customers – starting in India, followed by Malaysia and Bangladesh before the year end. Facebook by Fonetwish is easy to use, fast and affordable for both customers and operators, as it is text-based and uses very little bandwidth. There are no handset requirements to use this type of service. This means that a 10+ year old phone with no Internet and/or GPRS connectivity can still use USSD to send and receive information.

Innovating for everyday life

“Telenor seeks ways to innovate for people’s everyday lives. Today, we see that many customers in Asia and Europe are using very basic handsets that are incapable of connecting to the Internet. I am proud to say that through our agreement with U2opia Mobile, the handset is no longer a barrier, and we can now give the lion’s share of our customers an easy-to-use, affordable and interactive social media experience,” said Rolv-Erik Spilling, Deputy Head of Telenor Digital Services.

To get Facebook via USSD, Telenor subscribers simply dial *325# or *fbk# to start. A username and password is required. Once logged on, the user is presented with a menu of Facebook options: browse newsfeed, update status, post on walls, view friend requests, send friend request, send messages and view notifications. Telenor’s Indian operator, Uninor, rolled out a beta version of Facebook by Fonetwish in September this year, charging Rs20 per month ($0.39/mo) for unlimited access.

New business opportunities

“Our platform, Facebook by Fonetwish, gives people the opportunity to connect to a social network, often for the first time ever on their mobile-phones. This opens up new business opportunities for Telenor as a mobile operator, allowing them to provide an Internet service to a new group of people who do not actually have access to the Internet,” said Sumesh Menon, Co-Founder & CEO, U2opia Mobile.

Starting in 2013, Telenor plans to expand their partnership with Wikimedia, making Wikipedia via USSD available for customers as well. Telenor and Wikimedia Foundation first announced their collaboration in February 2012 to bring Wikipedia to Telenor customers at absolutely no cost (for data usage).

“We are now entering a phase in which we can give all of our customers, regardless of their phone, subscription, connection, etc. a means to engage and connect with friends and family via Facebook, as well as access to a vast pool of knowledge on Wikipedia. This is innovation at its best and a true step towards greater digital inclusion in our markets,” said Spilling.

Contact information:

Atle Lessum, Head of Communication,Telenor Digital Services, +47 415 05 645, al@telenor.com

“I am proud of our recent launch of 4G services in 11 cities in Norway. The rollout continues at rapid speed, and more than nine out of every ten Norwegian will have access to our 4G network in 2015. Telenor’s significant and long term investments enable us to deliver superior coverage and network quality, catering for the strong uptake of data services. The increased data usage and migration to bundled tariffs contributed to revenue growth this quarter,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor.

Challenges in Bangladesh and Hungary

“In Bangladesh, we are experiencing intense competition and a challenging regulatory environment. Grameenphone has initiated mitigating activities to regain revenue growth, including further development of Grameenphone’s leading network and distribution position. In Hungary, the disputed double taxation regime and other regulatory challenges pose a significant risk for the industry going forward,” Baksaas said.

Mobile data growth in Serbia, Sweden and Thailand

“Telenor Serbia, Telenor Sweden and DTAC in Thailand all demonstrate profitable growth fuelled by smartphones and mobile data demand. We are pleased to see that DTAC has won the auction for 3G licence and spectrum. Our Broadcast unit reports record high EBITDA margin on the back of well-executed cost management,” Baksaas said.

Submitted application in India

“In India, we have submitted an application for participation in the upcoming licence auction. However, several key issues need to be resolved before the final decision is made on participation. Meanwhile, the restructuring of the Indian operation is progressing according to plan,” Baksaas said.

Guiding for 2012

“For the full year 2012, we expect organic revenue growth of around 4% and operating cash flow margin of 23 to 24% not including India. At our Capital Markets Day in September, we announced our goals for the coming years, in order to stay ahead and drive value creation. With continued growth above peers and improved operational efficiency we aim for an operating cash flow of NOK 28 to 30 billion in 2015,” Baksaas said.

Key figures for third quarter

The table below contains key figures for the third quarter of 2012, compared to the previous year:

For more information please refer to the quarterly report on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q3/.

Contact:

Scott Engebrigtsen, Communication Manager, Telenor Group, Tel: +47 90043484, E-mail: scott.engebrigtsen@telenor.com

To the editorial offices:

Press and analyst conference

In connection with the publication of the financial results, a press and analyst conference will be held on Wednesday 24 October 2012 at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium Voice, Telenor Expo Visitors’ Centre, at the Telenor Headquarters at Fornebu outside Oslo. President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Richard Olav Aa will present the results. All presentations will be given in English.

Internet and mobile broadcast

The press and analyst conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will be made available on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q3/. During the live transmission, written questions may be submitted via the Internet. The conference will also be available live, and in a recorded version, on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +472440 from abroad.

Conference call and Q&A

The press and analyst conference will also be available as a conference call. This service also allows participants to ask questions at a concluding Q&A session, which will be held immediately after the presentation and a brief Q&A session in the auditorium. Please register well in advance on (+47)23184545, and state your name and company to an automatic voicemail followed by # (pound sign). For the Q&A session: to queue up for questions please press *1.

Materials

English language versions of the full quarterly report and all presentations used during the press and analyst conference will be made available on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q3/ from 07:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET.

¹ Organic revenue is defined as revenue adjusted for the effects of acquisition and disposal of operations and currency effects.

² Adjusted operating profit is defined as Operating profit less other income and expenses and impairment losses

³ Operating cash flow is defined as EBITDA before other income and expenses – Capex, excluding licenses and spectrum.

According to Rolv-Erik Spilling, SVP and Deputy Head of Digital services in Telenor: “This launch is the consequence of Google and Telenor´s strategic partnership around the Android™ ecosystem, which is driven by the vision to add value for the customers. There are more than 675,000 apps and game available on Google Play, and Telenor’s app panel will carefully select a maximum of 50 apps which they will recommend exclusively for their Android users. This will enable Telenor customers to easily discover better and richer content opportunities.”

The agreement with Google also includes the possibility of purchasing apps instantly and charging it to the operator bill. A survey by Opinium of more than 2,000 UK and German smartphone users concludes that 37 per cent of app users pay using operator billing. This shows a growing preference for charging payments to the phone bill rather than to cards or PayPal.

The solution with operator billing will be rolled out gradually in Sweden this week, with Norway and Denmark in the pipeline. Hungary, Malaysia and Thailand will launch shelf shortly, and Google and Telenor are working on deploying operator billing in these markets too.

The different business units will to a large degree have their own, local content on the Telenor shelf. Common for several of the countries is the Bipper-app “bSafe,” an app specially designed to turn your smartphone into a safety device.

According to Silje Vallestad, founder and CEO, “bSafe is the world’s leading mobile safety application. Partnering up with Telenor to launch bSafe is very important to us. Telenor is a great company founded on the same values as us keeping family and safety of high importance, and to make sure Telenor’s customers get the best.”

The upgrade requires no effort on the part of Telenor’s Android users. When the service is launched, all they need to do is to enter Google Play on their Android handsets and select the Telenor tile on the front page. This will take them to the handpicked selections of the most current, relevant apps.

Contact information:

Atle Lessum, Head of Communication,Telenor Digital Services, +47 415 05 645, al@telenor.com

Google Play and Android are trademarks of Google, Inc.

Internet and mobile broadcast

The press and analysts conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and will also be available as a recording after the conference. The live service also allows for written questions to be submitted. In addition, the conference will be available live and as a recording on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +47 2440 from abroad. For more details please visit http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q3/.

Conference Call and Q&A

You may also call in and listen to the presentation over the phone. This service allows you to ask questions at the Q&A session at the end of the presentation. For details, see http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q3/. To participate in the Conference Call please register before the conference starts by calling (+47) 23184545.

Material

The quarterly report and English versions of the presentations will be made available on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q3/.

Contacts:

Media:
Scott Engebrigtsen, Communication Manager, tel.: (+ 47) 90 04 34 84,
e-mail: scott@telenor.com

Analysts and investors:
Marianne Moe, Head of IR, tel..: (+47) 67 89 26 56 or (+47) 91 61 76 31

Telenor Group has indicated its interest to take part in the auction, and provided all necessary documents and financial guarantees requested to be eligible for participation in its application. A final decision on whether or not to participate will be made before the auction starts.

Telenor Group continues its efforts to secure a new Indian partner and to obtain all necessary approvals to transfer Uninor assets into the new company.

Contact information:

Tor Odland, Group Communications, Mobile: +47 9909 0872, E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

Glenn Mandelid, Telenor Asia, Mobile: +66 82440 1122, E-mail: glenn.mandelid@telenor.com

“Telenor joins the BlueVia platform as an equal partner, and we extend an invitation to other global telcos to join us in this new way of working together,” said Rolv-Erik Spilling, SVP and Deputy Head Telenor Digital Services.

“BlueVia has been widely praised for its innovative approach and for providing developers with a platform to build applications and mobile web services that will run on BlueVia’s own infrastructure. We want our fellow telcos to understand the benefits of joining BlueVia in helping to monetize assets while simultaneously making it easier for customers to purchase content and applications,” Spilling added.

Telenor and Telefónica will work together to roll out the platform across their mobile customer bases. The two telcos share the belief that the ease and convenience of operator billing payments will help increase downloads of paid mobile content, such as apps. This is especially relevant in developing markets where banking and credit card penetration is low.

“From the beginning, BlueVia’s aim has been to gain scale and experiment fast on API business, not sticking to Telefónica’s footprint, but rather expanding our vision to a pure global ecosystem. Telenor is leading the industry in embracing this vision. We are glad to work with them, initially in mobile payments, but also in exploring other innovative APIs aimed at different areas of the market,” said Jose Valles, Head of BlueVia.

Telenor – driving flexible mobile payment solutions for customers

Following previous announcement of Telenor’s partnership with Google Play, Telenor has entered into similar agreements with Microsoft and Facebook to further stimulate these ecosystems. Through these agreements Telenor customers will experience easier access to greater and richer mobile content, as well as flexible payment solutions.

“Customers show a growing preference for charging payments on the phone bill rather than to credit cards or PayPal. Operator billing thus enables developers to more easily monetize on their products. It’s important for us to offer this as a solution in as many channels as possible,” says Rolv-Erik Spilling in Telenor.

For further information:

Atle Lessum, Head of Communication Telenor Digital Services, +47 415 05 645, al@telenor.com

About Telenor
Telenor Group is an international provider of tele, data and media communication services. Telenor Group has mobile operations in 11 markets in the Nordic region, Central and Eastern Europe and in Asia, as well as a voting stake of 42.95 per cent (economic stake 35.7 per cent) in VimpelCom Ltd., operating in 18 markets. Headquartered in Norway, Telenor Group is one of the world’s major mobile operators with 150 million mobile subscriptions in its consolidated operations per Q2 2012, revenues in 2011 of NOK 99 billion, and a workforce of approximately 30,000. For more information about Telenor Group, please visit www.telenor.com
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please go to: http://www.telenor.com/en/news-and-media/press-releases/subscribe/
Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/TelenorGroup

About BlueVia
BlueVia is Telefónica’s innovative global developer platform, established in 2011 to enable developers to take apps, webs services and ideas to market. Its network APIs includes payments, communications and more, utilising technologies including RESTful APIs and OAuth. Both Telefónica and Telenor trace their roots to traditional telecommunication networks, but have recently formed new digital units. Earlier this year Telenor joined Telefónica in supporting the new Firefox OS initiative from Mozilla.

About Telefónica Digital
Telefónica Digital is a global business division of Telefónica. Its mission is to seize the opportunities within the digital world and deliver new growth for Telefónica through research & development, venture capital, global partnerships and digital services such as cloud computing, mobile advertising, M2M and eHealth. It is also driving innovation in over the top communications services under a new umbrella brand called Tu. Telefónica Digital will deliver these new products and services to Telefónica’s 311 million customers as well as leveraging the power of the internet to enter new markets. It is headquartered in London with regional centres in Silicon Valley, Sao Paulo, Spain and Tel Aviv. Jajah, Terra, Media Networks Latin America, 48 and giffgaff are all managed under the Telefónica Digital umbrella.

To sign up for news alerts and for more information on Telefónica Digital visit www.telefonica.com/digitalhub. You can also follow us on Twitter – @tefdigital

With immediate effect, Unitech Ltd. nominees will withdraw from the Uninor Board and all special shareholder rights stands suspended. Subsequent to a successful business transfer and spectrum auction, all disputes and claims between the parties shall stand withdrawn / concluded.

Contact:

Glenn Mandelid, Communications Director, Telenor Asia, tel: +66 82440 1122, e-mail: glenn.mandelid@telenor.com

“The current rapid development of digital services places increased requirements on the mobile network, and with 4G we are taking an important step towards increased capacity and faster speeds. With 4G from Telenor everything is in place for efficient streaming or downloading of films and music, image sharing and video conferencing whenever and wherever,” says Berit Svendsen, CEO of Telenor Norway.

Will cover the whole of Norway

Telenor is today launching its 4G network in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, Lørenskog, Sandnes, Lillestrøm, Asker, Bærum, Lofthus in Hardanger and Longyearbyen. By the end of the year Fredrikstad, Sarpsborg, Skien, Porsgrunn, Drammen and Kristiansand will have 4G coverage from Telenor. After this an ambitious extension programme will continue until the whole of Norway is covered. Tromsø will be covered in the first quarter of 2013.

“This marks the start of a new mobile fairy tale which all Norwegians will become part of. This year more than one in three Norwegians will have 4G-coverage from Telenor, but already in 2015 as many as nine in 10 will have 4G from Telenor,” Svendsen says.

Only PC and tablet users will be able to receive Telenor-4G when it is launched, while mobile users will have it in good time for Christmas. “The timing is brilliant because 4G mobile phones are now being stocked by retailers,” Svendsen says.

Boosting the 3G network

With 4G users can reckon on speeds of up to 40 Mbit/s. The speed for each individual customer depends on how many users are in an area at the same time, plus the distance to and position of the nearest mobile mast.

Telenor is also extending its 3G-coverage at the same time so that a good web surfing experience is ensured, no matter where you are. Telenor’s solutions handle both 3G and 4G and automatically provide the fastest internet wherever you are.

“Telenor’s aim is to provide the best experience of mobile broadband on the market. Regardless whether the customer is at home, at work or travelling the mobile internet experience from Telenor is unique. We will have the best coverage, quality and capacity, and we will continue to lead developments in this area,” Berit Svendsen emphasises.

For further information please contact:
Bjørn Amundsen, director of coverage at Telenor Norway, +47 90 02 10 00, bjorn.amundsen@telenor.com

Anders Krokan, communication manager at Telenor Norway, +47 95 20 90 37, anders.krokan@telenor.com

LOS Bynett builds high-speed fibre-optic networks for the business market and public sector, and Bynett Privat delivers to private households. The companies will continue as they are today, with the current management and same service offering until the end of 2013, after which Telenor will assess how to integrate the companies with the rest of their operations.

Wider range of services for customers

The Norwegian Competition Authority began processing the acquisition in autumn 2011 and concluded in March 2012 that Telenor Norway could implement the acquisition on certain conditions. The main features of this involve selling/making accessible LOS Bynett’s transport infrastructure in the counties of Agder and sub-letting transport infrastructure in Vestfold. In addition Telenor must accommodate any reasonable requests for access for business customers within the area covered by LOS’ access network. The Norwegian Competition Authority approved the transaction on 8 August, when all the conditions had been met.

“It is positive for our customers and the employees of LOS Bynett/Bynett Privat that ownership has now been resolved. We look forward to becoming part of Telenor Norway. This will give our customers access to a better, more extensive spectrum of services. We wish to contribute to further growth in customer numbers in the region together with Telenor,” says Håkon Honningsvåg, general manager of LOS Bynett/Bynett Privat.

“We are very happy that Telenor is taking over and further developing the two companies’ broadband operations in Vestfold and the counties of Agder. The sale is in keeping with our group strategy, and we are certain that more optimal future development has now been secured for the companies,” says Unni Farestveit, group director of social and corporate development at Agder Energi.

LOS Bynett AS had turnover of NOK 71 million in 2011, while Bynett Privat AS had turnover of NOK 39 million. See also the press release of 8 July 2011.

For further information please contact:

Kristin V. Tønnessen, head of communications/PR at Telenor Norway, tel.: +47 93 48 06 48, kvt@telenor.com
Unni Farestveit, group director of social and corporate development at Agder Energi, tel.: +47 91 66 44 95

Telenor

Telenor Group is an international provider of tele, data and media communication services. Telenor Group has mobile operations in 11 markets in the Nordic region, Central and Eastern Europe and in Asia, as well as a voting stake of 42.95 per cent (economic stake 35.7 per cent) in VimpelCom Ltd., operating in 18 markets. Headquartered in Norway, Telenor Group is one of the world’s major mobile operators with 150 million mobile subscriptions in its consolidated operations per Q2 2012, revenues in 2011 of NOK 99 billion, and a workforce of approximately 30,000. For more information about Telenor Group, please visit www.telenor.com

Telenor Norway is the Norwegian part of the Telenor group and has approx. 4,600 employees. The company is Norway’s biggest supplier of telecommunications and data services, and offers broadband, mobile, telephony and cable TV to private and business customers. Telenor Norway’s headquarters are at Fornebu in Oslo and it has more than 30 branch offices in Norway and on Svalbard. Read more at www.telenor.no

Agder Energi has a vision of being a leading Norwegian group in renewable energy. The group’s activities cover the production, distribution and sale of energy and services linked to energy. Agder Energi has 1,650 employees.

Telenor invites its co-shareholder Altimo to work with Telenor to restore proper corporate governance in VimpelCom Ltd. through supporting Telenor’s parity initiative. Telenor seeks no change to the corporate governance structure of VimpelCom Ltd., including the current board structure. Further, Telenor also calls upon the Russian authorities to support this initiative in order to find a constructive solution that would satisfy all parties and to avoid escalation of the current conflict on the basis of the purported extra-territorial injunctions issued by the Moscow Arbitrazh Court.

“Telenor proposes a concerted and comprehensive effort to restore proper corporate governance in VimpelCom Ltd. We call upon all stakeholders to show pragmatism and offer support to this effort, which clearly would be helpful to the company and all shareholders,” said Mr. Melgaard.

Background

Telenor acquired 234,000,000 VimpelCom Ltd. preferred shares from Weather in February 2012 and entered into an option agreement covering Weather’s remaining 71,000,000 preferred shares- in total, 305,000,000 shares. In April 2012, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (FAS) brought a lawsuit against Telenor and Weather in a Russian court, claiming, among other things, that Weather and Telenor jointly controlled OJSC VimpelCom, VimpelCom Ltd.’s principal Russian subsidiary, in purported violation of Russian law. On 15 August, Altimo Cooperatief U.A., a Dutch company, acquired 305,000,000 VimpelCom Ltd. common shares from Weather. After the completion of the put option transaction on 28 September, according to its public filings, Weather now holds only 0.04% of the voting shares in VimpelCom Ltd. Through these transactions, Telenor and Altimo have each acquired 14.8% of the voting shares in VimpelCom Ltd. from Weather.

In June 2011, Altimo transferred VimpelCom Ltd. preferred shares representing approximately 6.0% of VimpelCom Ltd.’s voting shares to Forrielite Limited, a Cyprus registered company controlled by Oleg Kiselev, a former Alfa Group executive. Forrielite subsequently transferred the same block of preferred shares to Bertofan Investments Limited, a Cyprus company controlled by Victor Pinchuk’s EastOne Investments. Based on public filings made by Altimo and Bertofan, the record shows that Altimo’s and Bertofan’s respective holdings amount to 46.53 % of VimpelCom Ltd.’s voting shares.

Contact:
Dag Melgaard, Communication Manager, Telenor Group,
tel: (+47) 901 92 000, e-mail: dag.melgaard@telenor.com

The prize was also awarded to Timbuktu due to his role in founding Studio Timbuktu in 2012, in collaboration with Plan Norway, with the aim of developing talent. Studio Timbuktu gives children and youth the opportunity to record songs about issues that interest them and helps them share their opinions with a wider audience.
Timbuktu has received seven Swedish Grammy awards as well as a Nordic language award in 2011 (Foreningen Norden). He is also an active ambassador for the Swedish UN-association.

The Telenor International Culture Prize, called “Boundless Communications”, is a key component of Telenor’s extensive cultural program. The winner receives NOK 250,000.

Controversial and socially conscious

“We congratulate Timbuktu, a well deserved winner of Telenor’s International Culture Prize for 2012. Timbuktu has been a trendsetter and pioneer on the Nordic hip-hop scene for many years, using dialect and conveying a universal and even controversial message as a tool for societal change. In particular, we honour him for using his role as an artist to encourage and train young people to create better lives for themselves through his own project, Studio Timbuktu,” says Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group.

“This year’s winner of the Telenor Culture Prize – Timbuktu – definitely lives up to the purpose of the prize to honour people or institutions that have bridged geographical, social and cultural borders through cultural contribution. Fairness, tolerance, transparency and freedom of speech are at the heart of Timbuktu’s lyrics. His confrontational lyrics make him unique. His songs are catchy and accessible and appeal to several generations of listeners.
A powerful stage presence over a number of years has made him our most influential, political crossover artist in the Nordic region. Many Nordic artists follow in Timbuktu’s footsteps, and his characteristic and distinctive voice has made its mark on numerous international collaborations,” says the head of the jury, Kjersti Alveberg.

”I am of course very happy and surprised by this fantastic award. To realize and express ideas is what I do, which is why I am overwhelmed that my ideas have touched my fellow people. This prize gives me increased motivation and opportunity to continue to communicate,” said Timbuktu.

Since 1995

The Telenor International Culture Prize – Boundless Communication – is awarded for the 17th time.

Previous award winners:
2011 – The Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra (KORK)
2010 – Olafur Eliasson, artist
2009 – Liv Ullmann, actress and film director
2008 – Jonas Bendiksen, photographer
2007 – Marilyn Mazur, percussionist, ensemble leader and composer
2006 – The International Museum of Children’s Art
2005 – Anne Marit Jacobsen, actress
2004 – Ingrid Lorentzen, dancer
2003* – the independent theatre company Verdensteatret
2001 – Ingvar Ambjørnsen, author
2000 – Juni Dahr, actress
1999 – Torun Lian, author and film director
1998 – Kari Bremnes, singer, musician and songwriter
1997 – Kjersti Alveberg, choreographer
1996 – Wenche Øyen, painter
1995 – Svein Tindberg, actor

* Between 2002 and 2003 Telenor changed the practice for dating. For press releases after 2002 the prize has been dated the same year as it was awarded. Earlier prizes were dated to the year prior to when the award took place. Therefore there are no prizes dating from 2002.

The jury of 2012: Kjersti Alveberg (choreographer and jury leader), Lars Saabye Christensen (author), Thorbjørn Harr (actor), Adil Khan (dancer and actor), Ingrid Kindem, (musician and composer), Cecilie Broch Knudsen (Principal of Oslo National Academy of the Arts) and Kai Rosenberg (Vice President Communication, Telenor Group)

Links:

Timbuktu home page

Picture of the prize winner

A film about Timbuktu may be downloaded here

Learn more about the art and culture initiatives of Telenor

More about Studio Timbuktu and Plan Norge

Contact:

Dag Melgaard, Communication Manager, Telenor Group
Tel: +47 901 92 000, Email: dag.melgaard@telenor.com

Today’s Capital Markets Day presentations will delve into monetizing on mobile data, operational efficiency, new operating models and taking positions in new services. Telenor shares its ambition to achieve gross cost savings of NOK 5 billion and an operating cash flow of NOK 28-30 billion in 2015.

Speakers on today’s agenda represent Group Industrial Development, Digital Services, Telenor Sweden, Telenor Norway, Telenor Pakistan and dtac, while CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Richard Aa will share Telenor Group’s strategic direction and financial priorities.

“This year’s Capital Markets Day program shows that we are a growth company. We continue to outperform our European peers. We also believe that with continued investment in our networks, new operating models and launching innovative services, we will remain one of the best-in-class,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group.

Contact information:

Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications
Mobile: +47 9909 0872, E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

This year marks the eleventh year that Telenor Group has been recognized as one of the top members in the DJSI universe of mobile communications companies. This year’s indexes reveal that Telenor Group’s score has significantly improved year-on-year.

“This recognition reflects our long-term commitment to sustainability. The growing interest in corporate sustainability from investors and analysts proves that this part of our business creates value for Telenor Group,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group.

This year, Telenor Group saw improvements in its innovation management score, as well as continued high ranking in the areas of impact of telecommunications services, supply chain and climate change.

“The Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes give us a useful benchmark for our performance and how we compare to the other major players in this industry. We see this as recognition of our company-wide focus on sustainability, as a part of our business. We will continue to work to maintain and improve our efforts in these areas,” said Mai Oldgard, Vice President and Head of Corporate Responsibility, Telenor Group.

The DJSI is a widely recognised benchmark for identifying the world’s corporate sustainability leaders. The DJSI assessment uses an in-depth analysis of economic, environmental and social criteria with a special focus on industry-specific risks and opportunities. The DJSI universe of participating mobile operations continues to expand and now includes 40 companies.

Find out more about the Dow Jones Sustainability indexes

Learn more about Corporate Responsibility in Telenor Group

Contact:
Tor Odland, Vice President, Telenor Group
tel.: +47 990 90 972,
e-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

“I am leaving Telenor with mixed feelings. This is a successful company with competent employees that I think few people are completely aware of. I’ve had the pleasure of taking part in discussions, decisions and the development of the company, which has been extremely inspiring and educational. The reason I’m joining NHO is because it presents a unique and exciting opportunity in an organization I know well – due to my role as Chairman of the Board for the last couple of years,” says Kristin Skogen Lund

Skogen Lund will assume the position as Director General of NHO on 1 November, and the process of finding her successor starts immediately.

In connection with the new appointments, NHO will hold a press conference at Næringslivets Hus, Middelthunsgate 27, 0303 Oslo at 11.00 am on 10 September 2012. President Heine Wang, board member Egil Olsvik and the next NHO Director General Kristin Skogen Lund will attend. There will be an opportunity for separate interviews with all the new appointees after the press conference

The press meeting will be streamed and can be followed here: http://webtv.hegnar.no/webcast.php?id=7728

Further information:

Atle Lessum, Head of Communication Telenor Digital Services, (+47) 41505645, al@telenor.com

Director of Information Rune Nøstvik, NHO, Tel.: 916 70 462 / E-mail: rune.nostvik@nho.no

On NHO

The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) is the largest special interest organization for business and industry in Norway, with around 21,000 companies. NHO’s member companies represent a total of over 500,000 workplaces. NHO works to obtain better framework conditions for members, which strengthens the competitiveness and profitability of trade and industry. Good companies give an economically sound and healthy society with good social welfare benefits. www.nho.no

“Oddvar has been integral part of the Telenor Group, and he will be missed. He has vast experience from his leadership positions at Kyivstar and his years spent as CEO in Grameenphone. While we are sad to see him leave, we are happy that Oddvar has agreed to be available to Telenor for other engagements during his retirement,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group.

“We are pleased that Jon Erik has accepted the position as Head of People Development in Telenor Group, and his experience from working in the business units will serve him well in his new role,” he added.

Jon Erik first joined Telenor in 1997 and has held a number of positions in both Norway and Sweden. Prior to his tenure as Denmark’s CEO, Jon Erik served as Chief Marketing Officer in Telenor Sweden, as well as Head of the Climate Change program in Telenor Group and Director of the mobile consumer market for Telenor Norway.

With Jon Erik now positioned back in Norway, Marek Slacik will move into Telenor’s Danish operation as CEO, effective September 1 this year. Marek has worked as Telenor Serbia’s Chief Marketing Officer since July 2009. He has 10 years of telecommunications leadership experience, working for start-ups, market challengers, as well as established operators, including Vodafone, Telefónica O2 and Telenor.

“Marek knows the telecommunications industry very well and has been a key part of making Telenor Serbia a major success story over the last few years. He believes in the power of new and relevant services in the market, and has played an important role in Telenor Serbia’s efforts to help customers explore and use digital content in their everyday lives. We look forward to Marek sharing his knowledge and experience with Telenor Denmark,” said Kjell Morten Johnsen, EVP and Head of European operations, Telenor Group.

Download image of Marek Slacik 

Download image of Jon Erik Haug

Innovation is key

“User-friendliness and simplicity are key elements in making products and services a success, and without innovative and creative ideas, it’s difficult to make progress in the digital future we are in the midst of. Telenor wishes to inspire and acknowledge these business products with a Nordic prize, and I hope for many participants in the nomination process,” says SVP Rolv-Erik Spilling.

The Jury 2012

The eight member jury consists of prominent experts in markets, digital services, research and innovation, five of whom come from companies outside of Telenor Group. Headed by Rolv-Erik Spilling, Deputy Head in Telenor Digital Services, the jury includes, Marie Nilsson, CEO Mediavison, Rikard Steiber, Global Marketing Director Mobile & Social, Google, San Francisco, Erling Maartman-Moe, Partner Alliance Venture, Morten Munk-Hansen, Digital Director Maxus Gobal, Georgi Ganev, CEO at Dustin Group, Sven Størmer Thaulow, CEO Telenor Comoyo AS and Dagfinn Myhre, VP, Research and Future Studies, Telenor Group.

Telenor values are basis for the prize.

The decision for who will take home the award will be based on Telenor’s own vision and values. The winner (s) should be able to inspire consumers to take part in our shared digital reality and to demonstrate a user friendly service.

Other criteria:

• The product/service must potentially be able to cover several communication platforms
• The product/service must have been launched or tested in the market
• The product/service must inspire further innovation across the digital consumer market
• The product/service must stimulate content providers to use digital channels in new, innovative ways and the product/service must contribute to balance the ecosystem of content, communication

Digital Winner seminar 2012

The seminar will be held at Telenor headquarters on 14 and 15 November, featuring Kristin Skogen Lund, Rikard Steiber Google, Rene Rechtman AOL Advertisment and many more.

Nominate your candidate for Digital Winner of 2012 here
Read more about the award and the jury here
Read more about the seminar here
Follow us on Facebook

For further questions:
Atle Lessum, Head of communication Telenor Digital Services, +47 415 05 645, al@telenor.com

Improved performance in Norway

“In Norway, we continue to invest to strengthen our superior coverage position, enable new content services and manage the rapid transition to data. So far this year, we have invested two billion Norwegian kroner and expect to invest four billion this year. I am also pleased to see our Norwegian mobile operation steadily improving its performance through healthy customer growth and lower operating expenses. The migration to bundled tariffs continues and contributes to revenue growth. The decline in fixed telephony continues and requires further efforts to maintain profitability,” said Baksaas.

Strong growth and margins in Pakistan and Malaysia

“We see continued good development in Telenor Pakistan and in DiGi in Malaysia with strong growth and margins. The Broadcast business delivers another solid quarter following good performance in all areas. Challenging market conditions in Denmark and Bangladesh resulted in weaker than expected revenue development this quarter,” said Baksaas.

Re-allocation of resources in India

“Uninor in India managed to add more than two million subscribers this quarter. Impressive efforts are being made to keep up momentum during this challenging period. As a response to the uncertain regulatory environment we are now re-allocating resources to the nine most profitable circles. In this manner, we aim to shorten the time and reduce the cost for the operation to become self-financed, thereby reducing the risk of the India investment,” said Baksaas.

New buy-back programme

“For the third year in a row, we initiate a new share buy-back programme of three per cent of the outstanding shares. With this buyback programme as a supplement to the dividends paid in May a total of approximately 12.6 billion Norwegian kroner will be returned to our shareholders in 2012, thereby confirming our ambition to deliver healthy shareholder remuneration,” said Baksaas.

Key figures

The table below contains key figures for the second quarter of 2012:

¹ Adjusted operating profit is defined as Operating profit less other income and expenses and impairment losses.

² Operating cash flow is defined as EBITDA before other income and expenses – Capex, excluding licenses and spectrum.

For more information please refer to the quarterly report on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q2/.

Contact:
Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications, Tel: +47 99090872, E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

To the editorial offices:

Press and analyst conference
In connection with the publication of the financial results, a press and analyst conference will be held on Tuesday 24 July 2012 at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium Voice, Telenor Expo Visitors’ Centre, at the Telenor Headquarters at Fornebu outside Oslo. President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Richard Olav Aa will present the results. All presentations will be given in English.

Internet and mobile broadcast

The press and analyst conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will be made available on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q2/. During the live transmission, written questions may be submitted via the Internet. The conference will also be available live, and in a recorded version, on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +472440 from abroad.

Conference call and Q&A

The press and analyst conference will also be available as a conference call. This service also allows participants to ask questions at a concluding Q&A session, which will be held immediately after the presentation and a brief Q&A session in the auditorium. Please register well in advance on (+47)23184545, and state your name and company to an automatic voicemail followed by # (pound sign). For the Q&A session: to queue up for questions please press *1.

Materials

English language versions of the full quarterly report and all presentations used during the press and analyst conference will be made available at http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q2/ at 07:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET.

Internet and mobile broadcast

The press and analysts conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and will also be available as a recording after the conference. The live service also allows for written questions to be submitted. In addition, the conference will be available live and as a recording on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +47 2440 from abroad. For more details please visit http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q2/.

Conference Call and Q&A

You may also call in and listen to the presentation over the phone. This service allows you to ask questions at the Q&A session at the end of the presentation. For details, see http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q2/. To participate in the Conference Call please register before the conference starts by calling (+47) 23184545.

Material

The quarterly report and English versions of the presentations will be made available on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q2/.

Contacts:
Media:
Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications: (+ 47) 99 09 08 72, e-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

Analysts and investors:
Marianne Moe, Head of IR: (+47) 67 89 26 56 or (+47) 91 61 76 31

“It is my great pleasure to announce that Ove Fredheim will assume the position of CEO Telenor Serbia.  Ove has a long experience from the CEE region, both from Hungary, Ukraine and Montenegro. I am confident that with his knowledge about the region and the extensive experience from the telecom industry, Ove can strengthen and further develop Telenor’s position in Serbia,” said Kjell-Morten Johnsen, Executive Vice-President, Head of European operations.

Ove Fredheim comes from Telenor Group Headquarters, where he was heading the Markets unit within the Group Industrial Development for the past three years. Prior to that, Fredheim served as CEO, Telenor Hungary, from 2003 to 2009. He has been with Telenor for 20 years.

“I am pleased to see that our leaders are able to easily alternate between the roles in the operational companies and the Group headquarters, and Ove is an excellent example of that. The balanced diversity in his experience will surely benefit the organization in Serbia, and the Telenor Group,” emphasized Johnsen.

“I am delighted with the opportunity to lead Telenor Serbia and hopefully, contribute to its further development, says Ove Fredheim. “Telenor Serbia is a forward-thinking company, capable of creating unique market offerings and delivering good results despite the economical challenges in the country. I look forward to join the team and to get to know better the company, its employees and the market in Serbia,” he said.

Johnsen, who continued as Telenor Serbia’s CEO after he took on the new role as Head of European operations and member of GEM in May this year, will now be able to focus exclusively on heading the European operations.

Telenor Serbia is the country’s largest mobile operator, with 43 percent market share, 3.1 million mobile subscriptions (Q1 2012), 1 118 employees (Q1 2012) and total revenues of NOK 2,911 million (2011).

More information about Ove Fredheim
Ove Fredheim has been in diverse management positions in Telenor Group, including Telenor Mobile, Norway (Senior Vice President Products and Markets, 2001-2002) and Kyivstar, Ukraine (Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Marketing Officer 1999-2001).

He was member of the Board of Directors in Telenor Montenegro (2005-2008), Member of Operating Committee in DiGi, Malaysia (2001-2002) and currently participates in the Board of Directors in Telenor Norway. He holds a  Bachelor Degree from Oslo School of Administration.

Download press photo of Mr. Ove Fredheim

For further information please contact:

Telenor Group 
Erik Nord, Head of Communication European operations,erik.nord@telenor.com, +47 907 47 162

Telenor Serbia 
Ana Davico, Media Officer, ana.davico@telenor.rs, +381 63 230 686

“Mobile broadband data communication will become more and more important for Danish telecom customers over the next few years. The spectrum we have acquired today will allow us to reach even more Danes with 4G data connections. So the 800 MHz licence is a key element of fulfilling our ambition to create Denmark’s best network in terms of both voice and data,” says Jon Erik Haug, CEO of Telenor Danmark. TT-Netværket P/S will pay DKK 111.463.000 for the 800 MHz spectrum acquired yesterday.

Telenor and Telia have concluded an agreement to merge their 4G, 3G and 2G mobile networks. The first step will be taken in a few months, when 4G sharing begins. Once Telenor and Telia have established a joint 4G network, coverage will naturally also be the same for both companies – 75 per cent of the population. The 800 MHz spectrum acquired by Telenor and Telia today will make it possible to provide 4G services to an even greater share of the population.

Further information
Peter Glüsing, Head of Press Relations, Telenor
Tel. (+45) 60 50 63 10
pgu@telenor.dk

Through an agreement with Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), Telenor now has the ability to launch its own store for digital content, giving its customers easy access to a wide variety of personalized digital media services such as music, applications, games, e-books and video. Telenor subscribers in Serbia are the first to find the content they want most in a single, localized storefront that knows who they are and what they like.

Alcatel-Lucent’s Digital Media Store (DMS) enables Telenor to provide its customers with a rich blend of services and content and more from a single, cloud-based ‘entertainment hub’. Instead of having to search for content in various sites that may or may not be compatible with their device, DMS provides Telenor subscribers with a one-stop shop where they can easily discover, acquire and use any content, across all their connected devices including PCs, feature phones, smartphones and tablets.

Because DMS is cloud-based, Telenor can quickly launch storefronts without deploying local operating platforms, and with minimal adjustments can expand the service to other countries. This enables Telenor to rapidly launch advanced multi-content services in its business units at a lower cost, and provides them with flexibility in content partnerships as it becomes easy to extend content distribution agreements to new markets.

Kristin Skogen Lund, EVP and Head of Telenor Digital Services said: “Digital content distribution is becoming more important. Launching our own store for digital content evolves our service distribution capabilities, and helps us remain relevant to our customers. We chose Alcatel-Lucent’s managed and cloud-based solution in order to make it easy for all Telenor business units to deploy and operate a localized store while best leveraging Telenor’s scale. It was particularly important to have a flexible solution which caters for all content categories and device types including feature phones. This agreement will provide us with support in three areas: deployment and platform hosting, content operations and management and content sourcing and merchandising,”

Adolfo Hernandez, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s Software, Services & Solutions group said: “Every country has a different consumer environment, and Telenor has a particularly diverse subscriber base. The flexibility and adaptability of our DMS solution therefore made it a good fit for Telenor which is looking to meet the individual needs of subscribers in both developed as well as fast-growing markets across Europe and Asia.”

The DMS solution will be deployed by Telenor on a country by country basis from the beginning of 2012 onwards. Its affiliate in Serbia has been first to commercially launch the service – in May 2012.

For further information, please contact:

Alcatel-Lucent

Simon Poulter, Press Contact, simon.poulter@alcatel-lucent.com,
Tel: +33 (0)1 40 76 50 84

Frank Maccary, Investor Relations, frank.maccary@alcatel-lucent.com, Tel : + 33 (0)1 40 76 12 11

Tom Bevilacqua, Investor Relations, thomas.bevilacqua@alcatel-lucent.com, Tel : + 1 908-582-7998

Telenor Group:

Atle Lessum, Head of Communication Telenor Digital services, al@telenor.com, Tel: +47 415 05 645,

About Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU)

The long-trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments around the world, Alcatel-Lucent is a leading innovator in the field of networking and communications technology, products and services. The company is home to Bell Labs, one of the world’s foremost research centers, responsible for breakthroughs that have shaped the networking and communications industry. Alcatel-Lucent was named one of MIT Technology Review’s 2012 Top 50 list of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies” for breakthroughs such as lightRadio™, which cuts power consumption and operating costs on wireless networks while delivering lightning fast Internet access. Through such innovations, Alcatel-Lucent is making communications more sustainable, more affordable and more accessible as we pursue our mission – Realizing the Potential of a Connected World.

With operations in more than 130 countries and one of the most experienced global services organizations in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The Company achieved revenues of Euro 15.3 billion in 2011 and is incorporated in France and headquartered in Paris.

For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent’s web site, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent blog  and follow the company on Twitter 

About Telenor Group

For more information, please visit Telenor Group’s website and follow us on Twitter

Telenor filed its claim following a 1 June letter from Altimo to VimpelCom in which Altimo alleged that Telenor and Weather Investments violated VimpelCom’s bye-laws by forming a group at the time of Telenor’s purchase of VimpelCom preferred shares from Weather Investments and then failing to make a tender offer for all of VimpelCom’s outstanding shares.   VimpelCom said in a 5th June press statement that its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee would assess Altimo’s allegations and make recommendations to the VimpelCom Supervisory Board as to what action, if any, VimpelCom should take.  VimpelCom Ltd., which is incorporated in Bermuda, is the named respondent in Telenor’s claim.

Contacts:
Media:
Dag Melgaard, Communication Manager, Telenor Group
tel: +47 901 92 000 / e-mail: dag.melgaard@telenor.com

Analysts and investors:
Marianne Moe, IR Director, Telenor Group
Tel: +47 916 17 631 / e-mail: marianne.moe@telenor.com

“I am pleased to present Telenor Group’s Sustainability Report, which tells the story of how corporate responsibility is at the core of everything we do,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group. “I believe that our long-term success is dependent on how we interact with the societies around us. To us, corporate responsibility means using our business to add value to people’s lives, ensuring that our services are safe for our customers and being conscious about limiting our impact on the environment.”

Each section within the Sustainability Report addresses a particular issue of relevance to Telenor, such as the provision of safe services and supply chain sustainability. The Sustainability Report openly acknowledges the fact that operating in international environments is not without its hurdles. Approximately 80 percent of the report’s content delves into Telenor’s proactive responsibility efforts throughout its business units, while the remaining 20 percent addresses why doing “good” can sometimes be difficult.

“Whether it is about addressing negative impacts or reaching out to beneficiaries in different geographies, certain challenges are frequently encountered. It is my hope that we can stand out by highlighting these challenges in our report,” said Mai Oldgard, Vice President and Head of Corporate Responsibility, Telenor Group. “This report will tell you that while we have achieved much in terms of creating shared value in our markets, we are equally ambitious in our desire to achieve even more. Corporate Responsibility is not a one-off for Telenor Group. It is a part of our business.”

Read the Sustainability Report

Learn more about Corporate Responsibility in Telenor Group

Telenor’s Fornebu office was built around the interplay between people, technology and the work environment. It challenged the traditional ideas of what a workplace should be, with its open workspaces, paper-free desks, reliance on technology and integration of inspirational design in the everyday work life. Telenor’s prize-winning corporate headquarters at Fornebu has been visited by both Norwegian and international companies, such as Hewlett Packard and Microsoft, looking to be inspired and learn from this unique way of working.

It defines the way we work

“What we started 10 years ago when building Fornebu has today evolved into what we call the Telenor Way. It is a concept that defines the way we work, not just here in Norway but in all of our Business Units,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group. “We have come a long way in 10 years and we should all be proud to have been a part of bringing the Telenor Way of working to the whole of Telenor Group and beyond.”

The Telenor Way is how Telenor runs its business. It links the company’s culture, vision and values, Code of Conduct, governance and leadership expectations. The Telenor Way serves as a guide for employees, allowing freedom to make decisions but with knowledge of responsibilities and expectations when working in Telenor.

From Malaysia to Svalbard

“Telenor has achieved a great deal over the past 10 years. We are a global brand with global awareness. We are bringing mobile communications services to millions of people, from Malaysia to Svalbard. Our roots are in Norway but our reach is far, and we will continue to live by the Telenor Way and dedicate ourselves to bringing the benefits of communications services to even more people in more places,” said Baksaas. “Congratulations to all on 10 wonderful years at Fornebu!”

10 years at Fornebu in pictures

Watch the slideshow on how the Fornebu model has transformed working life for Telenor employees. From open workspaces to paperless desks and to a complete absence of executive offices, the Fornebu model incited controversy upon its introduction but has since inspired collaboration and innovation at Fornebu and in Telenor’s operations around the world.

Watch the slideshow

The Telenor TravelSure concept

Telenor TravelSure is a new roaming offer that will be launched in all Telenor Group operations. The launch this June in the Nordics allows Telenor customers to benefit from very low per minute prices, meaning they can stay worry-free no matter how long they talk. It also includes launching new options and expanding the per day offerings for mobile data in additional countries. From there Telenor will continuously improve the offerings for both voice and data roaming.

“People throughout all of Telenor Group’s markets are increasingly travelling across borders and it’s important to be a leader in allowing them to access the full benefit of mobile technology wherever they are,” says Kjell Morten Johnsen.

Roaming in the Nordics – details

In Norway, Sweden and Denmark, Telenor has launched slightly different roaming offers under the same Telenor TravelSure concept. All three Nordic countries will now have an attractive voice offering and a new and easy–to–understand data roaming tariff.

The main news in the Nordic roaming initiatives is as follows:

Norway:

• Surf for just 49,- NOK per day for up to 30 megabyte in  EU/EEA countries. Automatic SMS notification sent to customers who go over the 30 MB limit. Price beyond limit is 10 NOK/MB.  Same price for mobile phone, pad and PC.
• ”Ring EU/EØS”. Telenor-customers with a Komplett or Prat subscription can use their included minutes when they travel in all EU/EEA countries. Call set up fee 5,99,- NOK.
• “Surf outside EU/EEA” with the lowest market price for USA and new, lower surf prices for Turkey, Switzerland, Croatia and Thailand 79,- NOK per day for up to 20 megabytes.  Automatic SMS notification sent to customers who go over the 20 MB limit. Price beyond limit is 10 NOK/MB. Same price for mobile phone, pad and PC.

“Ring EU/EØS” and “Surf outside EU/EEA” launched mid June.

Further information, see; http://www.telenor.no/privat/mobil/utlandet/TravelSure.jsp

Sweden:

• In January 2012 Telenor Sweden launched Free Surf EU as a concept, followed in February by Free Surf USA (SEK 199 per day) and Free Surf China (SEK 249 per day). These packages provide the customers with uncapped Internet access for a fixed price per day. At 100 MB the speed will be reduced to GPRS-level.
• On 22^nd of May the roaming package “Free surf EU” was made available to all  post-paid customers uncapped Internet access for SEK 79 per day in the EU, EES and Switzerland.

Further information, see; http://www.telenor.se/foretag/mobiltelefoni/utomlands/index.html

Denmark: 

• For voice calls Telenor Denmark offers “Tryg tale i udlandet” , a free service allowing customers to call within EU and Nordics for 5 DKK per call plus 0.59 DKK/min. for outgoing calls and 0 DKK/min for incoming calls.

• For surfing abroad Telenor Denmark offers “Tryg surf i udlandet“  for all consumer customers allowing customers to surf 20 MB/day in the EU or Nordics for 29 DKK/day. Up to 29 DKK the customer pays regular list price, and after the 20 MB the user is barred from further cost, until the customer requests more data with an SMS.

Further information, see; http://www.telenor.dk/travelsure

For more information please contact: 

Atle Lessum, Information manager Telenor Group, tel +47 4150 5645, atle.lessum@telenor.com

Telenor Norway:
Anders Krokan; +47 952 09 037

Telenor Sweden:
Andreas Hamrin; +46 73-425 26 64

Telenor Denmark:
Peter Glüsing; +45 60 50 63 10

“The Norwegian people’s use of mobile phones has changed dramatically. Now more than 55 per cent of mobile phones in Telenor’s network are smartphones, and by the end of 2012 we expect that figure to have increased to 70 per cent. Telenor’s mobile network ensures high speeds and good capacity when people are surfing the net on their PC, tablet or mobile phone. Customers need to be sure that we offer the best coverage, quality and capacity, both now and in the future. That is why we are focusing on 3G expansion,” says Berit Svendsen, managing director of Telenor Norway.

Super surfers

Telenor is noticing that Norwegians really have become super surfers. Data traffic on mobile phones increased by 20 per cent from the fourth quarter last year to the first quarter this year. If this growth continues, growth this year will amount to approximately 150 per cent.

“It is this development that is motivating us to expand mobile phone coverage in areas that currently do not have 3G coverage, and at the same time we are improving capacity where there already is coverage,” says Svendsen. Around 500 existing 2G stations will be put into operation this year alone. Telenor is also building 350 new stations in the 20 largest towns and cities in order to ensure good capacity for customers on the move and to improve coverage indoors.

“In total we will be setting up around 3,000 3G stations, either at existing 2G stations or completely new stations, by 2014,” says Svendsen.

“At the same time we are developing high speed networks to the mobile stations in order to ensure good capacity and good quality for our customers,” says Svendsen.

30 million MB a day

Every 24 hours, Telenor’s mobile phone customers use around 30 million megabytes, which corresponds to 35 million front pages of the VG (Verdens Gang) newspaper. “We are ensuring good capacity and high speeds for current and future use, and coverage is being expanded. This will mean that the surfing experience will be superb, both in towns and in rural areas,” says Berit Svendsen.

This year, Telenor is launching 4G in Oslo, Bærum, Sandvika, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, Sandnes, Lillestrøm and Longyearbyen.

For further information, please contact:

Anders Krokan, Information Manager at Telenor,
Tel: +47 95209037, anders.krokan@telenor.com

Bjørn Amundsen, VP and Director of Mobile Coverage at Telenor Norway,
Tel: +47 90021000, bjorn.amundsen@telenor.com

In a comment Svein Aaser said he is looking forward to working with the Board and management team at Telenor ASA. “Telenor is among the largest mobile operators in the world and they have achieved a strong market position in a short period of time, both in Europe and in Asia. I look forward to learning more about the organisation and its markets.”

The Corporate Assembly also elected Anders Skjævestad to succeed Jan Erik Korssjøen as Chairman of the Corporate Assembly and thus Chairman of the Nomination Committee. Mr. Skjævestad has been member of the Corporate Assembly and the Nomination Committee since 2009.
Contact:
Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications, Telenor Group. Mobile: +47 9909 0872.

Telenor’s Corporate Assembly is responsible for electing Telenor’s Board of Directors and the Corporate Assembly elects its own Chairman. Telenor’s Corporate Assembly meets after the Annual General Meeting and both meetings take place on May 16, 2012.

About Svein Aaser
Svein Aaser was CEO at Den norske Bank and DnB NOR from 1998 to 2006. He was previously CEO at Nycomed from 1987 to 1996. He has also been the CEO at Storebrand Skade, Nora Matprodukter and Stabburet Nora. He has served as president at The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) and Finance Norway (FNO). Today, Aaser is the Chairman of the Board at Statkraft, Det Norske Oljeselskap and Ocean Yield. Moreover, he is the Chairman of the Board at the National Museum of Art and the Anders Jahre Humanitarian Foundation. Aaser received his MBA in 1970 from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH). He is also a graduate from the Lausanne IMEDE’s Program for Executive Development.

About Anders Skjævestad
Anders Skjævestad is the deputy CEO at DnB Livsforsikring. He was previously with Arthur Andersen and Price Waterhouse. He is a graduate from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) and the University of Agder. He has been a member of Telenor’s Corporate Assembly and the Nomination Committee since 2009.

About Silvija Seres
Silvija Seres was previously a Director of Business Management at Microsoft and a VP of Product Marketing at Fast Search & Transfer. She is currently a director on a number of boards, including Statkraft, Norsk Tipping, Aschehoug, Dagbladet Medialab and Norman. She was previously an academic researcher at Oxford University as well as in the United States, China and Saudia Arabia. Seres has a PhD in Mathematics from Oxford, a Master’s Degree from the University of Oslo and an MBA from INSEAD. She has been a member of Telenor’s Corporate Assembly since 2011.

Contact:
Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications, Telenor Group. Mobile: +47 9909 0872.

Preparing for industrialisation

Telenor Group President and CEO, Jon Fredrik Baksaas said in a comment: “I am pleased that Kjell-Morten Johnsen has accepted the new responsibilities offered to him. He has delivered strong results as Head of Telenor Serbia and has broad experience from previous key Telenor positions, notably as head of Telenor Russia. A key challenge for Telenor going forward is to implement new operational models and to industrialise the European operations. By forming the new European regional unit we aim to reinforce these efforts”.

Kjell-Morten Johnsen comments

“I am thrilled to be offered this opportunity, but also humble with regards to the magnitude of the new responsibilities entrusted to me,” said Kjell-Morten Johnsen. “All our European operations are well positioned on their own merits, but there will be a key priority to continue to pursue the great potential for further cooperation across the region,” said Mr. Johnsen, who will take up his position with immediate effect.

Focus on Digital Services

EVP Kristin Skogen Lund has up till now headed both the Digital Services unit, Broadcast and the Danish and Swedish operations. Because of the increased importance of service development, Skogen Lund wanted to concentrate on the development of Telenor’s future in Digital Services. The success of Digital Services is of vital importance for Telenor, and to be able to deliver on the goals we are setting in areas like financial services, Internet services and machine to machine solutions, Telenor needs a strong and focused leadership.

“We look forward to following the innovation and service development in the Digital Services area, which will benefit the whole of the Telenor Group”, said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, CEO and President of the Telenor Group.

Bjørn Magnus Kopperud, the acting EVP and Head of the CEE region, will take on new responsibilities within the Telenor Norway organisation.

CEO and Group Executive Management in the Telenor Group

Contact:

Dag Melgaard, Communication Manager, Telenor Group
Tel: +47 901 92 00, email: dag.melgaard@telenor.com

Outstanding in Pakistan

“The revenue growth is fuelled by strong growth in our Asian operations where customer growth continues and the demand for data services is increasing rapidly. I am delighted to see that Telenor Pakistan delivered an outstanding quarter on all financial parameters, clearly demonstrating this organisation’s strive for continuous improvement,” Baksaas said.

Positive effects in Norway

“In Norway, we are starting to see positive effects from the market activities in the previous quarter with migration to new bundled mobile tariffs. The introduction of pricing that reflects the change towards data usage, and investments in better network capabilities, will enable us to further pursue mobile data opportunities. Reduced demand for fixed line services requires continued efficiency measures. We are in the midst of launching new operating models in the Nordic region and have recently entered into agreements for network sharing and a partnership for customer service in Denmark,” Baksaas said.

India

“Uninor in India continues to demonstrate operating performance on track towards communicated targets. The strong customer uptake continues, and by the end of March, more than 30 million customers were connected to Uninor’s network. We are impressed by the Uninor employees’ ability to deliver at this level under the present circumstances. The recent recommendation from the regulator on spectrum auction, following the Supreme Court’s ruling to revoke all licences issued in 2008, has severe negative impact on both the telecom industry in India and Uninor. If this should be approved by the Department of Telecommunications, it will be almost impossible for us to participate in the auction. We are working actively to safeguard our investment and urge the Government of India to clarify a sound framework for the industry,” Baksaas said.

VimpelCom

“In February, Telenor acquired 234 million preferred shares in VimpelCom Ltd. from Weather Investments. In April, another 65 million common shares were acquired. The transactions brought Telenor’s ownership position back to the level prior to the Wind Telecom transaction. The first transaction has been challenged by Russian authorities. We are confident that we have fully complied with applicable laws and regulations,” Baksaas said.

Guiding for 2012

Based on the high uncertainty in India, we are currently providing financial guidance for 2012 for the Group not including Uninor. On a comparable basis, the positive outlook is maintained,” Baksaas said.

Key figures

The table below contains key figures for the first quarter of 2012, compared to the previous year:

For more information please refer to the quarterly report on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q1/.

Contact:

Scott Engebrigtsen, Communication Manager, Telenor Group, Tel: +47 90043484, E-mail: scott.engebrigtsen@telenor.com

To the editorial offices:

Press and analyst conference

In connection with the publication of the financial results, a press and analyst conference will be held on Tuesday 8 May 2012 at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium Voice, Telenor Expo Visitors’ Centre, at the Telenor Headquarters at Fornebu outside Oslo. President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Richard Olav Aa will present the results. All presentations will be given in English.

Internet and mobile broadcast

The press and analyst conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will be made available on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q1/. During the live transmission, written questions may be submitted via the Internet. The conference will also be available live, and in a recorded version, on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +472440 from abroad.

Conference call and Q&A

The press and analyst conference will also be available as a conference call. This service also allows participants to ask questions at a concluding Q&A session, which will be held immediately after the presentation and a brief Q&A session in the auditorium. Please register well in advance on (+47)23184545, and state your name and company to an automatic voicemail followed by # (pound sign). For the Q&A session: to queue up for questions please press *1.

Materials

English language versions of the full quarterly report and all presentations used during the press and analyst conference will be made available at http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q1/ at 07:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET.

¹ Adjusted operating profit is defined as Operating profit less other income and expenses and impairment losses

² Operating cash flow is defined as EBITDA before other income and expenses – Capex, excluding licenses and spectrum.

Internet and mobile broadcast

The press and analysts conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and will also be available as a recording after the conference. The live service also allows for written questions to be submitted. In addition, the conference will be available live and as a recording on mobile phones - for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +47 2440 from abroad. For more details please visit http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q1/.

Conference Call and Q&A

You may also call in and listen to the presentation over the phone. This service allows you to ask questions at the Q&A session at the end of the presentation. For details, see http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q1/. To participate in the Conference Call please register before the conference starts by calling (+47) 23184545.

Material

The quarterly report and English versions of the presentations will be made available on http://www.telenor.com/investor-relations/reports/2012/q1/.

Contacts:

Media:

Scott Engebrigtsen, Communication Manager, tel.: (+ 47) 90 04 34 84,
e-mail: scott@telenor.com

Analysts and investors:

Marianne Moe, Head of IR, tel..: (+47) 67 89 26 56 or (+47) 91 61 76 31

Korssjøen has served as Chairman of the Corporate Assembly since 2001.

“The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Trond Giske, representing the majority shareholder in Telenor ASA, today expressed a lack of confidence in the Chairman of Telenor, following the handling of the TV2 issue in January this year. I have therefore decided to step down as Chairman in Telenor,” says Harald Norvik.

Harald Norvik will continue as Chairman of the Board until a new Chairman has been elected by the Corporate Assembly. Norvik has served as Chairman since 31 May 2007.

As a precautionary measure, Telenor ASA has decided to write-down the remaining fixed and intangible assets in India amounting to NOK 3.9 billion (NOK 2.6 billion after non-controlling interests). The write-down will be included in Telenor’s results for the first quarter 2012, to be presented on 8 May 2012. After the write-down, Telenor has no further accounting exposure related to India as of 31 March 2012.

Contact information

Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications, Telenor Group
Mobile: +47 9909 0872,
E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

The report dives into the healthcare situations in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Thailand, Malaysia, Russia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. It presents potential solutions for each of these markets that are possible through mobile communications.

“We commissioned this report because we wanted to better understand how our solutions can help improve the healthcare situations in the countries where we operate,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, CEO, Telenor Group. “For instance, how can we increase efficiency in modern healthcare through remote monitoring solutions that enable the elderly people to live longer in their own homes?”

mHealth in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro

The most notable healthcare challenges faced by these nations include their aging population and the rising costs of healthcare services. Solutions such as home monitoring aided by mobile technology can keep the elderly in their homes longer, easing the burden on care facilities. However, barriers to widespread mHealth solutions include privacy issues, interoperability challenges when sharing information electronically, and the lack of industry incentive when remuneration is often dependent on nights actually spent in the hospital, nursing facility or face-to-face consultations.

mHealth in Malaysia, Russia and Thailand

As countries in transition, they face shared difficulty in ensuring proper maternal health and infant care, combating communicable diseases, and confronting new challenges such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Remote diagnostics and remote patient monitoring can be critical to bringing healthcare to the rural populations in these countries. However, the lack of common standards can prevent the spread of mHealth, along with limited commitment from regulatory bodies to ensure that mHealth happens.

mHealth in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India

These nations are struggling to deliver affordable healthcare to their citizens. Their resources are limited and much of their population is rural. mHealth deployment is currently limited in these countries, partly due to lack of awareness and action from the regulatory bodies. From maternal and infant health challenges to reducing disease, these countries need cost-efficient and widespread solutions that will help their citizens live longer and healthier. mHealth can fill these gaps, but access to mobile services needs to improve, along with government commitment and the creation of incentives to encourage the spread of mHealth.

Reinvigorating healthcare

“mHealth can be one of the keys to redefining and reinvigorating our struggling healthcare systems, as well as enhancing the healthy lifestyles and longevity of our citizens,” said Baksaas. “The telecommunications industry is well-positioned to play a central role in the evolution of mobile health solutions worldwide.”

Contact information:

Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications, Telenor Group
Mobile: +47 9909 0872,
E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

Telenor has learned that the FAS also filed an application with the Moscow Arbitrazh Court requesting that, prior to the Court reaching a decision on the merits of the FAS’s claim, the Court issue an injunction that would (a)  prevent VimpelCom Ltd. and VimpelCom Holdings B.V. from voting their shares in  OJSC VimpelCom, (b) prevent Telenor East and Weather II (as shareholders of VimpelCom Ltd.) from changing the governing bodies of VimpelCom Ltd. (i.e., the VimpelCom Ltd. board), and (c) prevent Telenor East and Weather II from exercising their rights under the option agreement.

“We believe we have fully complied with the Strategic Investment Law as it has been interpreted and applied to date,” said Telenor spokesman Dag Melgaard.  “In addition, we have provided the FAS with all of the information it has requested.  There has not been any change of control in VimpelCom, nor is there any agreement between Telenor and Weather Investments concerning control of VimpelCom.  We are open to a dialogue with the FAS, but we will defend Telenor’s position using all available remedies under applicable law and treaties.”

“Furthermore, Telenor is within the ownership range it has been before. The transaction with Weather Investments reestablished the balance of shareholder interest which existed before Telenor’s ownership was diluted as a result of the Wind Telecom transaction,” said Dag Melgaard.

On 15 February 2012, Telenor purchased 234 million VimpelCom preferred shares from Weather Investments for USD 374.4 million, thereby increasing Telenor’s voting share in VimpelCom Ltd. to 36.36%, subject to adjustment arising under certain put and call arrangements.

Contacts:

Dag Melgaard, Communication Manager, Telenor Group
tel: +47 901 92 000 / e-mail: dag.melgaard@telenor.com

VimpelCom shareholdings before transaction

“This is innovation at the very core of a telecommunications company. It’s a strategic requirement to build flexible systems for billing and charging in an environment where business models are constantly changing. In the future, operators will need to find inventive ways of packaging the new data-based services in a way that consumers find attractive. Our ability to quickly adapt to changing customer needs and find ways to leverage on our cross-border competencies and size deliver direct competitive advantage,” says Hilde Tonne, Executive Vice President, Group Industrial Development, Telenor Group.

From an initial list of 23 potential vendors, Telenor Group ultimately decided on a single provider for the new platform. The vendor that best met both the technical and the commercial requirements was Huawei. Today, Telenor Group is signing a global frame agreement with Huawei. In some markets, the implementation phase will be conducted by a third-party system integrator.

About Telenor Group

Telenor Group is an international provider of tele, data and media communication services. Telenor Group has mobile operations in 11 markets in the Nordic region, Central and Eastern Europe and in Asia, as well as a voting stake of 36.36 per cent (economic stake 31.67 per cent) in VimpelCom Ltd., operating in 19 markets. Headquartered in Norway, Telenor Group is one of the world’s major mobile operators with 140 million mobile subscriptions in its consolidated operations per Q4 2011, revenues in 2011 of NOK 99 billion, and a workforce of approximately 30,000. For more information about Telenor Group, please visit www.telenor.com

Contact information:

Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications, Telenor Group
Mobile: +47 9909 0872,
E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

• The necessary infrastructure is already in everyone’s hands: 7.4 billion mobile subscriptions projected by 2015
• The technology richness and network capacity is sufficient, both on simple feature phones and on smart devices
• Currently, more than 500 mobile health projects are taking place around the world
• Costs in elderly care can be reduced by 25% with mobile healthcare
• Maternal and perinatal mortality can be reduced by 30%
• Twice as many rural patients can be reached per doctor
• Tuberculosis treatment compliance can be improved by 30-70%
• 30% of smartphone users are likely to use “wellness apps” by 2015
• Costs related to data collection can be reduced by 24%
• Smartphone is the most popular technology among doctors since the stethoscope

The study “Socio-Economic Impact of mHealth ” – commissioned by Telenor Group and carried out by The Boston Consulting Group – is a comprehensive survey of the impact that mHealth initiatives can have in 12 countries. The countries are grouped into three clusters, each with a different set of primary healthcare challenges. Where countries in one cluster primarily face challenges with non-communicable diseases and quickly growing system costs, countries in another cluster struggle with maternal/child health, communicable diseases and limited access to health care. What unites them all is that mobile health technology can improve the quality, reach and effectiveness of services while reducing costs and the overall system burden.

Telenor Group has launched a number of mobile health initiatives across its markets. In Norway, an assisted living project helps the elderly stay longer at home through mobile alarm systems. In Thailand, a mobile text messaging service provides epidemic surveillance. In Bangladesh and Pakistan, a service called Healthline provides patients with a simple number to dial for both serious and non-serious medical needs. In India, mothers can obtain critical information about prenatal health via their phones. In Montenegro, a joint project with the EU provides a service for remotely located elderly people, enabled by one touch on a button on their mobile handset. In Serbia, mobile health technology is used to increase the quality of medical registration and reporting for the Roma community.

Action is needed

“Mobile health is already a reality, with hundreds of projects launched worldwide. However, many projects are struggling with achieving scale. Both regulatory actions and ecosystem collaboration is required to create the necessary scale. We need to commit to common standards, increase access to mobile services and document the impact of mobile health. Finally,

Governments can use their procurement processes to drive further innovation in mobile health services,” says Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group.

“The technological development and successful pilots around the world demonstrate that the time for mHealth has come. Accelerating adoption will require orchestrating multiple stakeholders, including the alignment of incentives for healthcare professionals to adopt mHealth,” says Knut Haanæs, Global Leader, Sustainability Practice, The Boston Consulting Group.

About the study

The study identifies the main healthcare challenges in each study country, and estimates the potential benefits over the next decade of large-scale mHealth solutions being made available, leveraging the best evidence available on mHealth pilots to date. It also examines the roles stakeholders need to play to help make this a reality.

About Telenor Group

Telenor Group is an international provider of tele, data and media communication services. Telenor Group has mobile operations in 11 markets in the Nordic region, Central and Eastern Europe and in Asia, as well as a voting stake of 36.36 per cent (economic stake 31.67 per cent) in VimpelCom Ltd., operating in 19 markets. Headquartered in Norway, Telenor Group is one of the world’s major mobile operators with 140 million mobile subscriptions in its consolidated operations per Q4 2011, revenues in 2011 of NOK 99 billion, and a workforce of approximately 30,000. For more information about Telenor Group, please visit www.telenor.com

Contact information:

Media:
Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications, Telenor Group
Mobile: +47 9909 0872,
E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

“The Wikimedia Foundation is working to remove barriers to free knowledge, and for most people around the world right now, cost and accessibility are the two biggest hurdles,” says Barry Newstead, Wikimedia Chief Global Development Officer. “We applaud Telenor for joining us to deliver free access to Wikipedia for their customers. Through this partnership, we move a step closer to providing the sum of all knowledge to everyone in the world.”

This partnership supports Telenor’s commitment to bring more value to its mobile customers. Especially, the company has pioneered the development of value-adding services to rural and underserved communities in Asia. Telenor involve millions in Asia through the I-Genius project, which has already reached out to 300,000 Bangladeshi students and school-children with a call to explore open knowledge on the internet.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Wikimedia Foundation. Telenor have pioneered affordable, mobile communications across much of Asia, and we have built a track record of offering vital services with a significant outreach” says Kristin Skogen Lund, Executive Vice President and Head of Digital Services at Telenor Group. “With this agreement, we are first in Asia to bring a vast knowledge source to the millions in underserved communities across the region.”

The 3-year partnership between Telenor Group and the Wikimedia Foundation will cover 135 million users. The agreement is signed by seven countries: Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Montenegro, and Serbia. By the end of the year, more markets are expected to join. The agreement will be implemented step by step throughout 2012, with the first markets launching during the second quarter.

Each local Telenor affiliate will establish technical solutions together with the Wikimedia Foundation. Customers with a Telenor SIM will be able to access a version of the encyclopedia for as many times as they like in a given period, at no charge, as long as they stay within Wikipedia’s pages.

About Telenor

http://www.telenor.com

Telenor Group is an international provider of telecom, data and media communication services. Telenor Group has mobile operations in 11 markets in the Nordic region, Central and Eastern Europe and in Asia. The company also has an ownership stake of 36.4 percent in VimpelCom Ltd., operating in 19 markets. Headquartered in Norway, Telenor Group is one of the world’s major mobile operators with 140 million mobile subscriptions in its consolidated operations per Q4 2011, revenues in 2011 of NOK 99 billion, and a workforce of approximately 30,000.

About the Wikimedia Foundation

http://wikimediafoundation.org

http://blog.wikimedia.org

The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to comScore Media Metrix, Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation receive more than 482 million unique visitors per month, making them the fifth-most popular web property world-wide (comScore, January 2012). Available in 282 languages, Wikipedia contains more than 20 million articles contributed by a global volunteer community of more than 100,000 people. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is an audited, 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants.

Contact information:

Tor Odland
Vice President, Communications
Telenor Group
+47 9909 0872
tor.odland@telenor.com

Jay Walsh
Head of Communications
Wikimedia Foundation
+1 415-839-6885, ext 6609
jwalsh@wikimedia.org

“This transaction takes Telenor to approximately the same voting position as a successful outcome of the arbitration process would have achieved, and is therefore a commercial solution we are happy with,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, Telenor’s CEO. “The withdrawal of the arbitration claim will prevent further dilution of the VimpelCom shareholders, and it will enable a more normal corporate governance situation in VimpelCom. We will work to expand the VimpelCom Board to eleven members. Together with the other shareholders we will continue our contribution to the industrial development of VimpelCom as we always have done.”

“I am very happy about this transaction which will allow Weather to participate actively in the Supervisory Board of VimpelCom, will foster improved corporate governance of the company and ensure a better focus of the management on industrial issues in a context in which the existing disputes among the key shareholders have been resolved,” said Naguib Sawiris.

Simultaneously with Telenor’s purchase of VimpelCom preferred shares from Weather, Telenor and Weather have entered into certain put and call arrangements regarding the remaining 71,000,000 VimpelCom preferred shares held by Weather.

Set out below are the shareholdings in VimpelCom before and after the transaction (prior to any adjustments arising under the put and call arrangements referred to above):

VimpelCom Shareholdings before Transaction

VimpelCom Shareholdings after Transaction

Telenor has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission an amendment to Telenor’s filing on Schedule 13D with respect to VimpelCom, attached to which are copies of the share purchase agreement and the option agreement between Telenor and Weather. Free copies of such documents can be obtained at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

This announcement contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, including statements concerning the expected benefits and costs of the proposed transactions; management plans relating to the proposed transactions; any projections of earnings, revenues, synergies, accretion, margins or other financial items; any statements of operations, including the execution of integration plans; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Any statement in this announcement that expresses or implies Telenor ASA’s intentions, beliefs, expectations or predictions (and the assumptions underlying them) is a forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, without limitation, the possibility that the board of directors of VimpelCom Ltd. will not be expanded to eleven members; and other risks and uncertainties that are beyond the parties’ control. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of the date hereof, and Telenor ASA expressly disclaims any obligation to update or correct any forward-looking statements made herein due to the occurrence of events after the issuance of this announcement.

Contacts:

Media:
Dag Melgaard, Communication Manager, Telenor Group
tel: +47 901 92 000 / e-mail: dag.melgaard@telenor.com

Analysts and investors:
Marianne Moe, IR Director, Telenor Group
Tel: +47 916 17 631 / e-mail: marianne.moe@telenor.com

Telenor Group holds Unitech Ltd. liable for the breach of warranties related to the cancellation of the licenses – seeking compensation for all investment, guarantees and damages caused by the Supreme Court Order. Telenor Group also makes an indemnity claim against Unitech for the failure to obtain spectrum in the strategically critical Delhi circle.

Cancellation is a clear breach of Unitech’s warranties

“The legality and validity of the licenses was a fundamental term of the share subscription agreement between Telenor Group and Unitech Limited. We believe that the Supreme Court’s cancellation of the Unified Access Service Licenses (UASL) conclusively demonstrates a clear breach of Unitech’s warranties,” said Pål Wien Espen, Group General Counsel, Telenor Group.

In the share subscription agreement between the partners, Unitech Ltd. has irrevocably and unconditionally agreed to indemnify and hold harmless the Telenor Group from all damages which may be suffered as a result of breach of any of the agreed warranties.

“The fact is that Uninor as a consequence of the judgment will no longer hold any UASLs. Telenor will therefore exercise its entitled right under the share subscription agreement to hold Unitech Ltd. liable to indemnify and compensate Telenor Group for its investment in India,” said Pål Wien Espen.

Telenor Group starts looking for new partner

Telenor Group will consider every option available to secure the continued successful development of its mobile services in the country. It is Telenor Group’s position that the strategic partnership with Unitech Limited does not have a future, and it therefore will start the process of looking for a new Indian partner.

Telenor Group has invested INR 61 billion (NOK 8.9 billion) for 67.25 percent ownership in Uninor, and additionally is also fully guaranteeing for INR 80 billion (NOK 8.1 billion) of short-term debt.

Contact information:
Pål Kvalheim, Senior Vice President, Head of Group Communications
Mobile: +47970 44 970

Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications
Mobile: +47 9909 0872,
E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

Glenn Mandelid, Communication Director, Telenor Asia
Mobile: +66824401122
E-mail: glenn.mandelid@telenor.com

Main drivers

“The Group’s growth momentum is driven by strong customer uptake in our Asian operations and increasing demand for data services. The results from the Norwegian operation are impacted by high market activities this quarter to speed up migration to new bundled price plans,” Baksaas said.

Uninor

“The positive operational development in Uninor throughout the year continued in the fourth quarter, and we are now recognised as a growing player in the Indian market. The recent ruling from the Indian Supreme Court to cancel all telecom licences issued in 2008 severely penalizes Telenor for actions that took place before we entered India. We are working to protect our investments in all possible manners, and will consider every option prior to any further investments. We expect Indian authorities to conduct a swift and fair process,” Baksaas said.

Infrastructure modernisations

“During the year, we invested significantly to bring new and improved services to our customers and cater for the tremendous growth in data traffic. We are confident that over time, the infrastructure modernisations will improve efficiency and benefit both our customers and the environment,” Baksaas said.

VimpelCom

“In VimpelCom, the results are affected by the acquisition of Wind Telecom. We support VimpelCom in execution of its strategy for improved operational excellence, profitable growth and capital efficiency,” Baksaas said.

All-time high shareholder remuneration

“In 2011, Telenor delivered a solid operating cash flow of more than NOK 19 billion and we maintained a strong balance sheet. We completed the share buyback programme for 2011 in November, returning NOK 4.4 billion to the shareholders. Together with the dividends paid out in June 2011, this resulted in an all-time high shareholder remuneration of NOK 10.7 billion. For 2011, the Board of Directors proposes a dividend of NOK 5.00 per share, implying a pay-out ratio in the high end of the dividend policy range,” Baksaas said.

“We are confident that by utilizing our market positions, people and capabilities, the Telenor Group will see further growth and strong performance in 2012,” Baksaas ended.

Key figures

The table below contains key figures for the fourth quarter and full year of 2011, compared to the previous year.

Contact:

Scott Engebrigtsen, Communication manager, Tel: +4790043484, E-mail: scott@telenor.com

To the editorial offices:

Press and analyst conference

In connection with the publication of the financial results, a press and analyst conference will be held on Wednesday 8 February 2012 at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium A, Telenor Expo Visitors’ Centre, at the Telenor Headquarters at Fornebu outside Oslo. President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Richard Olav Aa will present the results. All presentations will be given in English.

Internet and mobile broadcast

The press and analyst conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will be made available on www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q4-2011. During the live transmission, written questions may be submitted via the Internet. The conference will also be available live, and in a recorded version, on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +472440 from abroad.

Conference call and Q&A

The press and analyst conference will also be available as a conference call. This service also allows participants to ask questions at a concluding Q&A session, which will be held immediately after the presentation and a brief Q&A session in the auditorium. Please register well in advance on (+47) 23184545, and state your name and company to an automatic voicemail followed by # (pound sign). For the Q&A session: to queue up for questions please press *1.

Materials

English language versions of the full quarterly report and all presentations used during the press and analyst conference will be made available at www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q4-2011.

¹ Adjusted operating profit is defined as operating profit less other items and impairment losses

²As of the first quarter 2010, figures for OJSC VimpelCom and Kyivstar were included with a one quarter lag.

³ Capex is defined as capital expenditures from continuing operations.

⁴Operating cash flow is defined as EBITDA before other income and expenses – Capex, excluding licenses and spectrum.

Telenor has yet to review the ruling and will be able to comment further once we had a chance to review it.

Contact
Glenn Mandelid, Communications Director, Telenor Asia
Mobile: +66824401122 E-mail: Glenn.Mandelid@telenor.com

Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications
Mobile: +47 9909 0872, E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

Present at the press conference will be the Chairman of Telenor Group, Harald Norvik, and the President & CEO of Telenor Group, Jon Fredrik Baksaas.

The press conference will be conducted in Norwegian, and takes place in Auditorium A at Telenor Expo at the headquarter of Telenor Group, Snarøyveien 30, Fornebu.

Internet broadcast

The press conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will be made available on
http://webcast.telenorexpo.no/easystream/event/eventlist/default.cfm?page=1&contactid=1015&contactguid=677DCCB7-CC9E-4F74-86E1-2854DD8B4D19&eventid=1329&eventguid=A80C66B5-0C21-4DEC-8E06-606681B71CFD.

Contact
Vice President Group Communications, Tor Odland, tel.: +47 99090872

Communication manager Scott Engebrigtsen, tel.: +47 90043484

Internet and mobile broadcast

The press and analysts conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and will also be available as a recording after the conference. The live service also allows for written questions to be submitted. In addition, the conference will be available live and as a recording on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +47 2440 from abroad. For more details please visit www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q4-2011.

Conference Call and Q&A

You may also call in and listen to the presentation over the phone. This service allows you to ask questions at the Q&A session at the end of the presentation. For details, see www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q4-2011. To participate in the Conference Call please register before the conference starts by calling (+47) 23184545.

Material

The quarterly report and English versions of the presentations will be made available on www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q4-2011.

Contacts:

Media:
Scott Engebrigtsen, Communication Manager, tel.: (+ 47) 90 04 34 84,
e-mail: scott@telenor.com

Analysts and investors:
Marianne Moe, Head of IR, tel..: (+47) 67 89 26 56 or (+47) 91 61 76 31

The agreement covers mobile, fixed and IP telephony, mobile broadband, mobile business networks, SMS solutions and functionality for Statoil. In addition, Telenor already supplies Nordic Connect IP-VPN, leased lines and wireless zone to Statoil.

Through the agreement Statoil will also have access to a 24-hour customer service, dedicated customer teams and local service through Telenor’s nationwide dealer network and self-service portal giving a complete overview of the entire customer relationship.

Long history

Telenor has been Statoil’s main provider of telecommunications services for decades.

“Statoil is one of our most important customers, and we are very pleased to be given the opportunity to continue our good partnership. During these years Statoil has been a strong driving force in adopting new communications technologies and has challenged us in the development of new services. Telecommunications is increasingly about collaboration and efficient work processes and the solutions Statoil now uses support these needs,” says Abraham Foss, head of the corporate market at Telenor Norway.

Companies like Statoil and Telenor, with large international operations, create new challenges with respect to efficient use of expertise and resources.

“As a consultant and provider of mobile, administrative and security solutions, we look forward to help facilitating good interactive solutions,” says Foss.

For further information, please contact:
Kristin V. Tønnessen, Information Manager, Telenor,
tel. +47 934 80 648, kvt@telenor.com

“We have found that the mobile area has been through a period of dramatic development in recent years, both with our customers and internally. We now have many employees who use smart telephones at work. This means that both data traffic and speech are important to us. We look forward to developing into a more mobile business in partnership with Telenor,” says Vidar Horne, Purchasing Director of the SpareBank 1 group.

The bank alliance is currently using Telenor’s Proffnett communications solution and has also started running a pilot version of the Mobilt Bedriftsnett mobile solution.

“We have had a rather mixed portfolio of subscriptions among our employees. This will now be streamlined by having one common subscription with fixed prices,” says Horne.

Major requirement

“The banking and finance industry has a major requirement for good communications solutions in order to serve customers. SpareBank 1 is an important customer for Telenor and we are very pleased to take on further challenges in our strong position in this industry,” says Abraham Foss, head of the corporate market at Telenor Norway.

The new framework of the agreement opens opportunities for optimisation and new working platforms. “We see exciting development potential for modern, interactive solutions. We intend to meet expectations in terms of both technology and customer service,” says Foss.

For further information, please contact:
Kristin V. Tønnessen, Information Manager, Telenor Norway,
tel. 934 80 648

Christian Brosstad, Information Director, SpareBank 1 Group,
tel. 970 80 686

• Simple and robust reporting tools for users
• Age-appropriate privacy settings
• Wider use of content classification
• Wider availability and use of parental control
• Effective takedown of child abuse material

The work of the Coalition will build on and continue the efforts of other successful initiatives from previous years, but is unique in that it brings together companies from across many parts of the ICT value chain. EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes has been championing the initiative and is committed to work with the ICT companies to achieve the goal of improved protection in the defined areas.

“The Coalition is a cooperative voluntary intervention designed to respond to emerging challenges arising from the diverse ways in which young Europeans go online,” Kroes explained.

In recent years, Telenor has worked systematically to address the challenges that have emerged with wider Internet penetration. We have seen positive results from our outreach campaigns and our focus on building arenas for dialogue, involving children, teachers and parents.

“The Internet offers fantastic possibilities for children everywhere. New ways to learn, play and interact are opening up. But we must also be mindful of the threats and build sound attitudes to behaviour online,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group.

“Across the ICT ecosystem we share a responsibility for giving our children a safe environment to explore. At Telenor Group we look forward to continue our work to develop a safer online experience through the Coalition. We welcome this opportunity to move forward together,” Baksaas said.

The additional capacity will also provide faster and more stable broadband connections, essential for employees working at the base, as its current data capacity is limited.

Under this new co-operative agreement with Norsk Romsenter Eiendom, Telenor Satellite Broadcasting will provide a dedicated link from Antarctica for Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) , utilising dedicated satellite capacity on THOR 7 , Telenor’s latest satellite, which is due to launch at the end of 2013. The link will be used to distribute meteorological and environmental data for research environments and will be sent to Nittedal, TSBc’s largest teleport for further distribution to Europe and the US.

“Thanks to this agreement, we can look forward to meeting the increase in requirements for the distribution of meteorological and environmental data collected from numerous earth orbit satellites to user communities in Europe and the US” said CEO Rolf Skatteboe at KSAT “The additional capacity is also essential for the welfare of our employees, who will easily be able to maintain contact with family, colleagues and friends through the internet, email and IP telephony”.

Bo Andersen, the Chairman of Norsk Romsenter Eiendom said, “This agreement provides KSAT with increased transmission capacity to further support and expand its growing requirements for Earth observational data received in Antarctica, which can then be quickly distributed across the world. This is a new and exciting phase in our developing relationship with Telenor Satellite Broadcasting and we look forward to working closely with them on future opportunities”.

For Norsk Romsenter Eiendom, it is important that the space sector positively contributes to the development of other disciplines and through this agreement it can strengthen its Norwegian Polar research from its Polar institution research station, Trollsat.

“For Telenor Satellite Broadcasting this contract signifies our joint ambition in strengthening our partnership with Norsk Romsenter Eiendom”, said Cato Halsaa, Vice President and CEO at TSBc “With THOR 7 launching in 2013, we are able to support fresh initiatives and are happy to utilise our satellite position 1°West to provide data communications in the polar regions.”

The term of the agreement remains in place for the lifetime of the THOR 7 satellite, which is at least 15 years.

About Telenor Satellite Broadcasting AS

Operating from the prime European orbital location, 1°West, Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc) provides extensive television broadcasting services for distribution and contribution applications to broadcasters, utilising a hybrid network that comprises terrestrial circuits, earth stations and the satellite fleet. TSBc delivers end-user connectivity and broadband application services via satellite in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and has also established inclined-satellite operations at the 4 degree West orbital position. Visit the company’s website at www.telenorsbc.com

Contact:
Jorgen Thaule +47 915 59 607

Natasha Keech +44 7740 450 852

About Norsk Romsenter Eiendom (Norwegian Space Centre)

The Norwegian Space Centre (NSC) is a government agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. NSC promotes the development, co-ordination and evaluation of national space activities as well as supports Norwegian interests in the European Space Agency (ESA). Visit Norsk Romsenter’s website www.spacecentre.no

Contact:

Bo Andersen, mob: +47 90092490

About Kongsberg Satellite Services AS (KSAT)

Kongsberg Satellite Services AS (KSAT) is a commercial Norwegian enterprise, uniquely positioned to provide ground station and earth observation services for polar orbiting satellites. With three interconnected polar ground stations; Tromsø at 69°N, Svalbard (SvalSat) at 78°N and Antarctic TrollSat Station at 72°S , and a growing mid latitude network, KSAT operates over 50 antennas optimally positioned for access to polar orbits. KSAT is owned 50% by Kongsberg and 50% by Norwegian Space Centre Properties- a company owned in full by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry, administered by Norsk Romsenter (Norwegian Space Centre). Visit KSAT’s website www.ksat.no

Contact:

Rolf Skatteboe, mob: +47 91198985

The experts from the UK and Spain are part of the “Trygg bruk” centre’s European network. Around 30 countries across Europe are taking part in the EU’s Safer Internet Plus Programme and all are working towards a common goal of strengthening and protecting children and adolescents on the Internet. Each country has its own “Safer Internet Centre”. In Norway, the responsibility for this centre has been delegated to the Norwegian Media Authority.

“It is encouraging that experts from other countries want to learn about how we are working on digital bullying in Norway through the “Bruk Hue” (“Use your head”) campaign. Today, we are rounding off our fifth season of Bruk Hue at Holmlia, and this type of attention is seen as confirmation that what we are doing is right and a source of inspiration for the further work in 2012,” says Torild Lid Uribarri, Director of Communication and Corporate Social Responsibility at Telenor Norway.

Good results

Since 2009, Telenor Norway, the Norwegian Media Authority, the Red Cross and Barnevakten have been working together to combat digital bullying through the Bruk Hue school campaign. This campaign gives both children and adults information on preventing and combating digital bullying and is producing good results. A survey conducted by Norstat on behalf of Telenor shows that three out of every four pupils who have participated in Bruk Hue’s awareness campaign have found out what they needed to know in order to avoid bullying via mobile phone and the Internet.

End of season marked by Oslo rappers Emire and Lillebror

Now that the autumn season 2011 is drawing to a close, the Norwegian Media Authority’s British and Spanish colleagues have expressed a particular interest in the Bruk Hue campaign. The same goes for the artists Emire and Lillebror (Little Brother), who will give a mini-concert to mark the occasion.

“When thousands of young people in Norway are bullied by mobile phone and the Internet every day, it’s good to know that prevention works. We’re glad to turn up for such an important issue, and we reckon the mood will be great at Holmlia today,” says Assad Arif, alias Lillebror.

So far, the campaign has visited 250 lower secondary schools and met around 70,000 young people and 12,500 parents.

For more information, please contact:

Kristine Meek, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Telenor Norway,
Tel: 918 85 405 or e-post: kristine.meek@telenor.com

Stian Lindbøl, Manager of the Norwegian Media Authority’s Trygg bruk” centre,
Tel: 979 75 734

About the Norwegian Media Authority’s “Trygg bruk” Centre’s European collaboration partners

Safer Internet Centre UK – SWGfL:
The UK Safer Internet Centre comprises 3 leading UK online safety charities; SWGfL, Childnet and IWF. It aims to make the Internet a great and fun place for children, working with Government, industry, NGO’s and the voluntary sector. The delegates focus on working with schools; their children, staff and parents.

Safer Internet Centre ESP – Protegeles:
Protegeles, is a nonprofit organization which lead the Safer Internet Center in Spain (hotline, helpline and awareness center) since 2002 . The spanish SIC provide to the Law Enforcement Units reports on illegal content in the internet, and it carries out educative campaigns on the safer and responsible use of online technologies, in addition to the psychological and legal help provided to their users.

“The Winners development of digital toys for touch screens and focus on learning, enabling small kids (2-6) their first safe interactive digital experience whilst providing an open ended play, focus on imagination, no winning or losing has been recognized. The winner is an example of clever ideas developed in a R&D environment in close relationship with the users in this case the small kids,” Spilling continues.

Telenor’s Vision and Values (“Be Inspiring” in particular) has been used as a guiding principle when selecting candidates to the short list. The winner should inspire players and customers to become digital and use digital channels, and to “Make it Easy”, which stresses the importance of high user friendliness.

The following criteria has been emphasized

• Cross platform potential
• Commercial success
• Inspire to use digital channels
• Personal score from the jury members

“We are both proud and happy for this very prestigious award. It shows that we are on the right track in introducing families to fun, creative and safe digital toys for kids. We’re especially glad that the jury recognized our work with open ended play – where kids just have fun, and don’t have to compete or get stressed,” says Björn Jeffery, CEO of Toca Boca.

The list of registered applications ended up with more than 30 highly qualified candidates from Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and from this the jury on the 14th November ended up with a short list of three candidates:

• Toca Boca
• Wevideo: first cloud based full feature video editing platform supporting user collaboration
• Never.no: a tool positioned to help broadcasters and content owners by connecting TV, Mobile & Social platforms through Two Screen and Social TV experiences

“The list of candidates this year was very strong, and we had some really good discussions in the jury before we ended up with Toca Boca as the winner. Including the two other candidates on the short list I would also like to draw attention to two other candidates, Legade; manage the digital estate for bereaved, and Dsafe AS, solutions for digital receipt. Their ideas were really inspiring,” says Rolv-Erik Spilling.

The prize is NOK 200.000 and business development with Comoyo.

For further information, please contact:

Atle Lessum, Head of communication Digital Services & Nordic,
atle.lessum@telenor.com, phone: +47 415 05 645

“This deal between Google and Telenor is designed to inject even more energy into the Android ecosystem. Most importantly, it means that millions of Telenor customers will experience easier access to more and richer mobile content, as well as flexible payment solutions,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President & CEO of Telenor Group.

An editorial team in each market will be responsible for selecting and presenting up to 50 apps – with high local relevance. Operator billing makes it easy for Telenor’s Android users to pay for apps, via prepaid or postpaid subscriptions, and enables developers to more easily monetize on their products. Industry data shows that, given the option of paying via credit card or operator billing, approximately 70% prefer the latter.

The upgrade requires no effort on the part of Telenor’s Android users. All they need to do is to enter Android Market on their handsets and select the Telenor (or local subsidiary) tile on the front page.

Customers in Telenor’s remaining global markets (India, Bangladesh, Serbia, Montenegro, Pakistan and Norway) will be able to enjoy the upgraded Android experience later in 2012.

Contact
Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications
Mobile: +47 9909 0872, E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com

Glenn Mandelid, Communications Director, Telenor Asia
Mobile: +66824401122 Email: Glenn.Mandelid@telenor.com

Google, Android, and Android Market are trademarks of Google Inc.

“Jan Edvard has played a key role in the success of Telenor over nearly four decades and it is with mixed emotions we see him embark on this new opportunity. He will be missed in Telenor, but we are pleased on behalf of VimpelCom. He has broad experience from nearly all fields of the telecom industry. Combined with his ability to keep learning and continuously develop his market insights, he brings essential competences to his new role and I am confident of his continued success,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group.

Industrial and operational focus

Since its initial investment in 1998, Telenor has been instrumental in securing the growth of VimpelCom into its current position as a large multinational telecom operator. Following the Wind acquisition, Telenor has communicated the need for strengthening the operational focus of VimpelCom and for safeguarding the strong position in the Russian market.

“Jan Edvard will be a reinforcement to the management team of VimpelCom Ltd. and I expect him to contribute greatly to the operational focus and to the future results of the company. I look forward to following his progress and congratulate him on his new endeavor,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group.

For further information, please contact

Dag Melgaard, Communication Manager, Telenor Group Communications, tel: +47 901 92 000, email: dag.melgaard@telenor.com

Lars Christian Iuel is currently the Head of Marketing at Telenor Group’s Asia office in Bangkok. Prior to that, he worked three years as the CMO of Telenor Pakistan. He has a diverse international background, both from different positions in Telenor and from Cell One in Namibia.

- My admiration for Telenor Pakistan, and for the country as a whole, fills me with high expectations and I am very eager to take on the assignment. I know the people of the organization well and I am confident that together we can continue to produce great results. The Pakistani market is still in its infancy and the prospect for the country and the telecoms industry is startling, said Lars Christian Iuel, appointed CEO of Telenor Pakistan.

Retiring and leaving the company in great shape

- Christian Albech has been the CEO of Telenor Pakistan since the 1st of March 2011 and has served the company well. We are grateful for his contributions and that he passes on a company that is well positioned for future growth and prosperity. I will also take the opportunity to express our gratitude towards Christian for his many years of service and strong contributions to Telenor, said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group

Christian Albech has served Telenor for 20 years, with great effort and results. Before joining Telenor Pakistan, Christian Albech was the CEO of Telenor Broadcast where he successfully headed a broad portfolio of companies such as Canal Digital, Telenor Satellite Broadcasting, Norkring and Conax.

Further information:

Lars Christian Iuel is educated as a Cand Merc from the University of Aalborg, Denmark.

Telenor Pakistan was established in 2005 and is fully owned by the Telenor Group. The company holds 27 million customers by the third quarter of 2011 and it has built a number two position in the Pakistani market in five to six years. The company has also pioneered the development of mobile financial services, enjoying international recognition for its Easypaisa mobile banking services.

Pictures of Lars Christian Iuel can be downloaded from:

http://www.telenor.com/en/news-and-media/multimedia-gallery/press-releases/2011/lars-christian-iuel-appointed-new-ceo-of-telenor-pakistan

For further information, please contact:

Glenn Mandelid, Communications Director, Telenor Group Asia,
Tel: +66 824 401 122, email: glenn.mandelid@telenor.com

Anjum Nida Rahman, Director Corporate Communications & Responsibility, Telenor Pakistan,
tel: +92 (0) 34 5850 4580, email: anjum.rahman@telenor.com.pk

EBITDA improvement in Uninor

“Uninor in India is starting to show EBITDA improvement and is on track towards becoming an ultra low cost operator. The regulatory framework is still unclear and we urge Indian authorities to provide clarity shortly. The authorities should demonstrate their commitment to the industry and move the process forward,” Baksaas said.

VimpelCom

“We welcome VimpelCom management’s communicated focus on operational performance, debt repayment and shareholder remuneration,” Baksaas said.

Top sustainability performance

For the 10th year in a row, Telenor Group has been named one of the top performers on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, the world’s most comprehensive annual analysis of corporate sustainability performance. Sustainable growth is an important part of the ‘Telenor way’ of doing business and I am pleased that our efforts to extend the wider benefits of telecommunications are recognised,” Baksaas said.

Adjusted guidance for 2011

“Despite global macro economic turbulence and floods in Asia, our operations have so far remained resilient. We adjust our guidance for 2011 based on solid performance the first nine months and expectations for the rest of the year,” Baksaas said.

Key figures

The table below contains key figures for the third quarter of 2011, compared to the previous year:

¹ As of the first quarter 2010, figures for OJSC VimpelCom and Kyivstar were included with a one quarter lag.

² Capex is defined as capital expenditures from continuing operations

³ Operating cash flow is defined as EBITDA before other income and expenses – Capex, excluding licenses and spectrum.

For more information please refer to the quarterly report on http://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q3-2011.

Contact:

Scott Engebrigtsen, Communication Manager, Telenor Group,
Tel: +47 90043484, E-mail: scott.engebrigtsen@telenor.com

To the editorial offices:

Press and analyst conference

In connection with the publication of the financial results, a press and analyst conference will be held on Wednesday 26 October 2011 at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium A, Telenor Expo Visitors’ Centre, at the Telenor Headquarters at Fornebu outside Oslo. President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Richard Olav Aa will present the results. All presentations will be given in English.

Internet and mobile broadcast

The press and analyst conference will be broadcast live over the Internet, and a recorded version will be made available on http://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q3-2011. During the live transmission, written questions may be submitted via the Internet. The conference will also be available live, and in a recorded version, on mobile phones – for access, SMS expo to 2440 or +47 99454510 from abroad.

Conference call and Q&A

The press and analyst conference will also be available as a conference call. This service also allows participants to ask questions at a concluding Q&A session, which will be held immediately after the presentation and a brief Q&A session in the auditorium. Please register well in advance on (+47) 800 80 119 (from Norway) or (+47) 23 18 45 01 (from Norway or abroad).

Materials

English language versions of the full quarterly report and all presentations used during the press and analyst conference will be made available at http://www.telenor.com/en/investor-relations/reports/q3-2011 at 07:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET.