Tele1 Europe buys FastCom

Tele1 Europe buys FastCom Tele1 Europe has acquired FastCom as of Kristiansand, Norway, a leading supplier of internet and data communication solutions to businesses in southern Norway. The company has a large number of corporate clients on its own access network. The acquisition is a logical strategic move for Tele1 Europe as the company aims to be the Nordic region's leading supplier of broadband services to the business sector. Tele1 Europe will acquire all the shares in FastCom for NOK 40 million. FastCom was formed in 1998 and has made a profit from its first year of business. The company has nine employees and offices in Kristiansand, Arendal and the Grenland region. "FastCom is a nearly perfect complement to our broadband service along the coast. The company is profitable and has a significant portfolio of clients, in both the private and public sectors. In addition to their own access network, which runs from Kristianstad to the Grenland region, FastCom also gives us valuable technical competence," says Pål Eivind Vegard, managing director at Tele1 Europe. "Teaming up with Tele1 Europe will help us to speed up the construction of our fibre network in southern Norway. For our customers, the acquisition will mean that they will gain access to more services, including telephony. In addition, we will get resources that it would have been difficult to build and develop alone," says Kjell Olav Aa, chairman of FastCom as, Tele1 Europe is currently engaged in building Norway's fastest, most secure and most powerful transport network for broadband technology. "FastCom's customers are connected to the access network via fibre and DSL. In the west Norway we will connect this network with our infrastructure in Rogaland. In east Norway the network is connected to the Oslo fjord ring that we are now building. The Oslo fjord ring runs from Kristiansand via Oslo to Halden, where the network will be connected with Tele1 Europe's Nordic fibre network. To increase security and prevent disruptions caused by cable damage we are installing the-state-of-the art ocean cable, between the Moss and Horten," explains Vegard. "None of the other Nordic telecom businesses can match these plans for a powerful, international broadband network. While others are making big promises about the future of broadband, we are installing a transport network that will cover telecom requirements between countries for a long time into the future," says Tele 1 Europe's managing director, Pål Eivind Vegard. For more information, please contact; FastCom as Tele1 Europe AS Norway Kjell Olav Aa, Chairman Pål Eivind Vegard, Managing Mobile: +47 9506 6834 Director E-mail: koa@fastcom.no Telefon: +47 2150 2101, Mobile: +47 40 00 0101 E-mail: pal.vegard@tele1europe.no Tele1 Europe Holding AB Petra Asteson, Investor Relations Assistant Telefon: +46 8 5631 0344, Mobile: +46 701 810 344 E-mail: petra.asteson@tele1europe.se About Tele1 Europe (NASDAQ: TEUR, Stockholm Stock Exchange: TEUR) Tele1 Europe is a rapidly expanding data and telecommunications operator with activities in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway. The company provides broadband solutions for data, Internet and voice, to large and mid-range businesses in the Nordic region. Tele1 Europe is currently the only pan Nordic data and telecommunications operator investing in local access networks with broadband capacity. The company is constructing networks in the 80 largest cities in the Nordic region. The access networks, which are linked by a long-distance network, will be one of Europe's fastest data and Internet super-highways with an initial capacity for customers of up to one gigabit. The company was founded in 1995 and has around 1000 employees. The head office is in Stockholm and there are an additional 24 offices located in the Nordic region. For further information go to: www.tele1europe.com Facts about FastCom FastCom is a leading supplier of internet and data communications solutions in the south of Norway. The company delivers solutions from different suppliers of infrastructure at the best possible price and quality for its customers. FastCom uses leading edge technogy and its aim is to build a high speed network for the southern region of Norway. www.fastcom.no ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/02/13/20010213BIT00960/bit0002.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/02/13/20010213BIT00960/bit0002.pdf