Telia launches wireless Internet access for business travellers

Telia launches wireless Internet access for business travellers Telia is the first mobile operator in Europe to offer broadband wireless Internet access, with its new high-speed service, Telia HomeRun. At a number of nodal points, known as "hot spots", the service makes it possible to make a wireless connection from a portable computer to a company's own internal network or the Internet. It is already possible to use HomeRun at Arlanda Airport and the Central Railway Stations in Stockholm and Göteborg. The service will soon also be available at selected airports, railway stations, hotels and conference centres in Sweden and abroad. "Business travellers can work instead of wait while they are travelling through the hot spots where many people pass through", says Peter Kjellin, Manager of Local Wireless Access at Telia Mobile. "Where there is coverage for HomeRun, business travellers can work with high speed communication, just as if they were in the office." Telia HomeRun is offered initially to business travellers, who receive a PC card for installation in their portable computers. Within the area of coverage, users can receive and send e-mail, work on documents held in their company's local network, utilize databases, and surf their company's own intranet and the Internet. The transfer speed with HomeRun is currently 2 Mb/s, which compares very favourably with connecting via mobile phones, which operate at 9.6 Kb/s. In the next few years, HomeRun will be installed at over a hundred hot spots in Sweden, including airports, hotels and conference centres. The service will also be available in the Scandinavian countries and the rest of Europe. Discussions are already being held with a number of airports, and around the end of the year, the service is expected to be available at its first airport outside Sweden. "This is a market with an estimated turnover of SEK 6 billion in Scandinavia within three years", says Kenneth Karlberg, President of Telia Mobile. "HomeRun is part of Telia's focus on mobile multimedia, an area that is strategically important to us in the future, and where we are very much ahead in international terms". Journalists who require further information, please contact: Peter Kjellin, Manager of Local Wireless Access, Telia Mobile, 031-89 77 15, 070-585 01 11 Lena Demborg, Press Manager, Telia Mobile, 08-601 84 87, 070-594 03 45 Facts about Telia HomeRun * Telia HomeRun is a high-speed service for wireless Internet and intranet access, which is currently offered to business travellers at Arlanda Airport and the Central Railway Stations in Stockholm and Göteborg. * Telia is installing sites with coverage in clearly-defined areas with a large number of visitors. Within the area of coverage, users can receive and send e-mail, work on documents held in their company's local network, utilize databases, and surf their company's own intranet and the Internet * The base price for Telia HomeRun is about SEK 5,000. After this, a fee of about SEK 1,500 per month allows unlimited use of the service. * On subscription, a PC card is issued for installation in a portable computer. * Via a portal on the Internet, users can easily access their own company's network, send and receive e-mail, utilize databases, and surf the intranet and the Internet. * Transfer takes place through wireless broadband with a maximum speed of 2 Mb/s. * There is no need for cables or connection via a mobile phone. * A special security solution, end-to-end, can be supplied. Telia is the leading supplier of telecom-based information services in the Nordic/Baltic region. At the same time, "seamless" pan-European and global services are being realized through powerful alliances and partnerships in Europe and around the world. Annual turnover 1998 reached 51 240 MSEK and the number of employees amounted to approx. 30 600. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/10/01/19991001BIT00400/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/10/01/19991001BIT00400/bit0002.pdf