Telia finds new gateway into the digital home

- Establishing business in municipal networks and new coaxial technology will be weapons in the battle for customers in Sweden

Establishing triple play business in municipal networks, and also offering services through the coaxial networks of competitors, will be Telia’s new trump cards in the battle for broadband customers in Sweden. “We’re going to fight on a number of market fronts and we will have a very competitive offering,” says Erik Hallberg, Head of Broadband Services at TeliaSonera Sweden, who will also be one of the main speakers when the Swedish Association of Municipal Housing Companies (SABO) opens its annual “Broadband Days” conference on Tuesday.

Today, Sweden has more than 250 municipal networks but Telia has only provided services in a few of them so far. Erik Hallberg wants to change this:

“Municipal networks are an underutilized resource with huge potential. We have had our reservations about the quality of many networks and have therefore refrained from selling services in them. However, we have now specified the level of quality and service that we want municipal networks to have so we can secure the services we provide to our customers. There is a lot to be said in favour of establishing business in metropolitan networks, and when we do, we will fire the shot to launch an offensive from our side,” says Erik Hallberg.

Telia is soon planning to launch genuine triple play services (digital television, telephony and high-speed Internet) for its customers. Telia is also planning to supply these services to customers of municipal networks.

Building and real estate market is important target group
The building and real estate market has become an important cog in the machinery that will strengthen Telia’s position in the Swedish broadband market. Today, Telia has contracts with five of the most important companies in this industry.

This business involves offering broadband and triple play services for new construction but also for the present housing stock. The second trump card that Telia is now presenting will be focused on building owners and also involves offering services in coaxial networks, a capability that Telia has had for a while.

“We’re going to give ComHem and other traditional television service providers a real match in their home territory,” says Erik Hallberg. “Today, we can already offer building owners with their own cable TV networks in Sweden to replace their existing television provider with modern digital TV from Telia.”