Telia offers broadband service directly to households

Telia offers broadband service directly to households Telia is now expanding its range of broadband services in Sweden by launching a deal for households, which can now order their own broadband connection separately from framework agreements with building owners or tenant-owner associations. "With Telia ADSL Broadband, people can quickly connect to the Internet over their ordinary phone line," says Karin Moberg, president of Telia e- bolag. "They can also make phone calls and surf at the same time." Telia ADSL Broadband is a solution that enables a transmission speed up to 8 megabits over the copper wiring that can be found in all Swedish homes. "Telia ADSL Broadband is easily installed: it doesn't require the digging of trenches or any pulling of new cable or similar measures. All people have to do is decide if they want broadband access or not. A modem and a computer are the only equipment needed," says Karin Moberg, To be able to order an ADSL subscription, consumers should not live further than four km from a telephone switch. This is the case for about 85 percent of the Swedish population today. The service will be initially offered in about 25 locations in Sweden. Households ordering an ADSL connection will be able to utilize a transmission speed of 500 kb/s in the beginning. "We're not providing a faster transmission speed at the start for the simple reason that there aren't any content-based services that require a higher speed today," explains Karin Moberg. "It would be like driving a Formula One racer in city traffic - unnecessary and expensive. We have chosen a solution that best suits the consumer's present requirements and will upgrade our broadband solution as soon as there is a need for it. We can already offer a range of computer games and entertainment programs. Our offering will be gradually broadened in coming months." Telia ADSL Broadband can already be ordered today on the web at www.telia.se/bredband. Starting October 1, people who have ordered Telia ADSL Broadband can use this homepage to see when the service will be connected to their home. The cost of the service will be a one-time fee of SEK 1,475, covering the leasing of the modem, plus a fixed monthly charge of SEK 250. After that, subscribers are free to surf as much as they want, whenever they want. Telia will arrange a number of events in 21 locations in Sweden during September to demonstrate the advantages of using broadband technology. The themes of these presentations will focus on entertainment, useful features and e-learning possibilities. For further information journalists can contact: Anders Zellman, Press Manager, Telia e-bolag, phone +46 8 451 81 62, +46 70 329 56 77 (mobile) or e-mail anders.u.zellman@telia.se ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/09/07/20000907BIT00540/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/09/07/20000907BIT00540/bit0002.pdf