Utfors set to win the price war between Telia and Tele2

Utfors set to win the price war between Telia and Tele2 Utfors' new price-list for calls within Sweden is being launched on 21 February and Utfors' new international rates will apply from 1 March. Although Telia has introduced local call rates that apply throughout Sweden and Tele2 has cut its prices, Utfors is still by far the cheapest telephony alternative. For international calls, Utfors is up to 75% cheaper than Telia. "Telia is trying to be as customer friendly as we always have been," says Jan Werne, Utfors' Managing Director. "We have always had the same rates throughout Sweden as for local calls." "Because we now have so many new subscribers, we are able to lower our rates even further. Our new price-list, which applies from Monday 21 February, shows that Utfors is still the cheapest alternative for calls in Sweden," he continues. "We are reducing call rates within Sweden from 11.25 Swedish öre per minute to 10 öre per minute for evenings and week- ends. In addition, our telephony customers get a free Internet subscription as part of the deal." According to statistics, the average telephone call is 4 minutes long. We have used this figure to illustrate overall call rates within Sweden including the opening charge. (Figures in SEK) Utfors Telia Tele2 Telenordia Glocalnet 4 min. 8 am - 6 pm 1.20 1.37 1.25 1.30 1.26 4 min. other times 0.80 0.91 0.89 0.90 0.86 According to Utfors' new price-list, the opening charge is still SEK 0.40. The rate is SEK 0.20 per minute from 8 am to 6 pm and SEK 0.10 per minute in the evenings and at week-ends. Sharp drop in international call rates The new price-list for international rates, which applies from 1 March, confirms that there is a lot of money to be saved on overseas calls. With Utfors, calls to Greece are SEK 2.80 per minute cheaper than with Telia, while calls to Spain are SEK 2.05 cheaper. Calls to Brazil are as much as SEK 13 per minute cheaper than with Telia, and calls to Israel SEK 10 cheaper. And these are just a few examples. Call rate per minute for international calls (Tele2's prices are at their lowest evenings and week-ends, 6 pm - 8 am) Figures in Utfors Telia Tele2 SEK Nordic 0.85 1.50 1.10 region The US 0.90 1.95 1.50 The UK 0.90 2.40 1.80 France 1.10 3.25 2.45 Spain 2.20 4.25 3.20 Greece 2.20 5.00 4.20 Israel 4.00 14.00 12.00 Canada 1.10 4.50 3.80 Australia 3.50 8.00 6.70 Japan 4.20 10.00 8.00 South 6.00 16.00 12.00 Africa Brazil 5.00 18.00 12.00 "And this is just the beginning," says Jan Werne. "Once we launch our broadband service for private customers on 1 June, Telia and Tele2 will have to be really customer friendly to compete with us." For more information please contact: Jan Werne, Managing Director, tel: +46 8 5270 2000, mobile: +46 70 848 25 40, or e-mail: jan.werne@utfors.se Michael G Berman, Marketing Director, tel: +46 8 5270 2000, mobile: +46 70 848 2546 e-mail: michael.berman@utfors.se The complete price-list is available from the Utfors web site: www.utfors.se Utfors was first off the mark with free Internet connections and local call rates for the whole of Sweden. The company is a leading Swedish datacoms and telecoms operator with its own infrastructure, and supplies high-speed, IP-based (Internet Protocol) services to companies and private customers throughout the Nordic region. During 2000, Utfors will be completing a 6,000 km broadband data and telephony network that will connect the 75 largest cities in Sweden, as well as Copenhagen and other Danish cities, and Oslo and Helsinki. Utfors has some 130 employees in Stockholm, Uppsala, and Överkalix and currently has more than 200,000 telephony and Internet customers. Utfors' principal owners are Norsk Vekst and Litorina Kapital, along with a number of other institutional investors. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/02/18/20000218BIT00590/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/02/18/20000218BIT00590/bit0002.pdf