Statement by TeliaSonera Sweden on the National Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) decision February 18, concerning the resale of fixed telephone subscriptions

Marie Ehrling, head of TeliaSonera Sweden, made the following comments in a statement: At the end of 2004, TeliaSonera Sweden, on its own initiative and on market terms, introduced the possibility for other operators to resell fixed telephone subscriptions.

As of today, we have signed agreements with so many telecom operators in the market that approximately 70 percent of all customers who make calls with another operator are free to choose the operator that they can have their fixed telephone subscription with. In the autumn of 2003, TeliaSonera Sweden started to develop a reseller product, and in November last year, the product was launched. The National Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) has been kept informed about TeliaSonera’s plans and has been regularly updated on the progress of ongoing work. The product that the PTS has now decided on is in agreement for the most part with the type of product that we are already selling to telecom operators in Sweden. The decision made by the PTS today unfortunately shows that the agency does not seem to be confident that the market can reach an agreement on its own, without a decision by a government agency. To put it more drastically, you could say that the PTS has slammed the door because TeliaSonera Sweden has already taken action to encourage increased competition for telephone subscriptions.