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Press release Tele2 Group Oct 17 2017, 1:00 PM CET

New real-time translation service will create conversations between newly arrived and Swedes

Tele2, Nokia and Reach for Change join forces to tear down barriers between both Swedish and newly arrived youth with the help of technology. The project, Call Together, is now being piloted, a real-time translation service that allows people with different languages to talk on the phone. Four pairs of friends will initially test the service – four Swedish youth and four newly arrived youth from Syria.

The test is conducted in collaboration between Reach for Change, Tele2 and Nokia to reduce language barriers that hinder integration and establish relations between newly arrived and Swedes.

“This is a great example on how more creative and innovative solutions can open up our society for children and adolescents who have come to Sweden. The service can hopefully become a great tool for organizations such as Kompis Sverige, who are doing a fantastic job pairing unaccompanied youth with established Swedish youth,” says Sofia Breitholtz, CEO of Reach for Change.

The technology making this possible comes from Microsoft. Nokia has then made changes to the service connectivity to make it work on Tele2’s network and thereby via calls. The technology will be tested during four weeks with four pairs of friends. The language that mainly will be tested is Arabic-English and the youth will help evaluate the product by the end of the test period.

Peter Wennerström, Head of CBT Nordic and Baltic, Nokia, comments: “We are excited to test this solution and see how it can be applied. It is essential that people living in Sweden can understand and engage with societal functions in the country, regardless of the language they speak. Once this technology is ready for mass use, there will be no limits to the communication potential it can unlock in society. With this initiative, Nokia - in cooperation with its customers - can connect the unconnected and bring the benefits of technology to our communities.”

Viktor Wallström, VP Communications, Tele2 AB, comments: “Tele2 is always looking to innovate and to create better lives for children. We are happy to combine these passions in this project that aims to enable unaccompanied refugee youth to live a more connected life and hence participate and contribute to society to a greater extent. I look forward to seeing the results from the pilot period and the positive change we can accomplish together with Reach for Change and Nokia.”

Read more about Reach for Change and Share the Brief project here: http://sweden.reachforchange.org/sv/

Read more about Nokia here: www.nokia.com

For more information, please contact:
Angelica Gustafsson, Head of Public Relations, Tele2 AB, Phone: +46 704 26 41 42
Erik Strandin Pers, Head of Investor Relations , Tele2 AB, Phone: +46 733 41 41 88

TELE2’S MISSION IS TO FEARLESSLY LIBERATE PEOPLE TO LIVE A MORE CONNECTED LIFE. We believe the connected life is a better life, and so our aim is to make connectivity increasingly accessible to our customers, no matter where or when they need it. Ever since Jan Stenbeck founded the company in 1993, it has been a tough challenger to the former government monopolies and other established providers. Tele2 offers mobile services, fixed broadband and telephony, data network services, content services and global IoT solutions. Every day our 17 million customers across 9 countries enjoy a fast and wireless experience through our award winning networks. Tele2 has been listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm since 1996. In 2016, Tele2 had net sales of SEK 28 billion and reported an operating profit (EBITDA) of SEK 5.3 billion. For definitions of measures, please see the last pages of the Annual Report 2016. Follow @Tele2group on Twitter for the latest updates.