Tele2 shuts down operations in Finland

Swedish telecoms group Tele2 said yesterday it would discontinue its operations in Finland due to the tough competitive and regulatory…

Swedish telecoms group Tele2 said yesterday it would discontinue its operations in Finland due to the tough competitive and regulatory environment.

Tele2, which entered the Irish market in September last year and is known in the Republic for its competitive pricing, intends to stop marketing mobile and fixed-line services in Finland.

"We see better opportunities elsewhere," Lars-Johan Jarnheimer, Tele2's chief executive, said in a statement. "We are still not able, for example, to sell local calls there. Given this situation, we have decided to end any further marketing investments there."

Tele2 will also give up the pursuit of a third-generation mobile licence.

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Finland withdrew a 3G mobile licence from Tele2 in June, but the company had said it would probably appeal against the decision.

Tele2 said its withdrawal from Finland would have a small positive effect on its results from 2006. "We have lost money in Finland and that loss we will not have any more," said Fredrik Berglund, Tele2's Nordic market area director.

"This is a very small deal," said an analyst who declined to be named. "They only have three employees in Finland and a few customers." However, the analyst said it was positive that Tele2 was prepared to pull out of markets that are not profitable.

Separately, Tele2 said it had launched its 12th GSM network in Russia. The network covers the Voronezh region.

Administration of existing customers in Finland will be transferred to Sweden. Tele2 has 29.4 million customers in 25 countries.

In Ireland it is aiming to take a 10 per cent share of the phone market.