Press release
Tele2 Group
Apr 29 2003, 12:13 PM CET
TELE2 LAUNCHES ITS SECOND GSM NETWORK IN RUSSIA
New York and Stockholm - Tuesday, April 29, 2003 - Tele2 AB ("Tele2", "the Group") (Nasdaq Stock Market: TLTOA and TLTOB and Stockholmsbörsen: TEL2A and TEL2B), the leading alternative pan-European telecommunications company, today announced that on 1 May, in Rostov, it will officially launch its second Russian GSM-network under the Tele2 brand. A provisional launch was made last weekend and Tele2 has already signed up over 6,500 GSM customers in the region.
The population covered by the GSM-license in Rostov is 4.4 million and the region's mobile penetration is approximately 11%. Tele2 is the fourth mobile operator to launch GSM-services in the region. The region is an important commercial center with a major port connecting Russia to the Mediterranean. As in Irkutsk, the GSM-network in Rostov was launched based on the GSM1800 standard, having similar coverage per base station as the GSM900 standard by using a phased array antenna solution from Radio Components.
This is the second of five GSM launches that Tele2 has planned during 2003. Tele2 currently holds twelve GSM-licenses in Russia, and offers mobile services in eleven Russian regions, which are being gradually rebranded as Tele2.
Lars-Johan Jarnheimer, CEO of Tele2 said; "The GSM-launch in Rostov follows on our successful launch in Irkutsk. We already have over 6,000 GSM customers in Irkutsk and Russia represents a great opportunity for us, as the Russian mobile market has substantial growth potential".
Tele2 AB, formed in 1993, is the leading alternative pan-European telecommunications company offering fixed and mobile telephony, data network and Internet services under the brands Tele2, Tango and Comviq to 17.7 million people in 22 countries. Tele2 operates Datametrix, which specializes in systems integration, 3C Communications, providing integrated credit card processing, web payment solutions and public payphones; Transac, providing billing and transaction processing service; C³, offering co-branded pre-paid calling cards and Optimal Telecom, the price-guaranteed residential router device. The Group offers cable television services and, together with MTG, owns the Internet portal Everyday.com. The Company is listed on the Stockholmsbörsen, under TEL2A and TEL2B, and on the Nasdaq Stock Market under TLTOA and TLTOB.
CONTACTS
| Lars-Johan Jarnheimer | Telephone: + 46 8 562 640 00 |
| President and CEO, Tele2 AB | |
| Hakan Zadler | Telephone: +46 8 562 640 00 |
| CFO, Tele2 AB | |
| Andrew Best/ Dwayne Taylor | Telephone: + 44 20 7321 5022 |
| Investor enquiries |
Visit us at our homepage: http://www.Tele2.com