Tele2 to launch fixed line telephony in UK for the Post Office from Nov 19

STOCKHOLM (AFX) – Tele2 AB said it has won an order from the UK’s The Post Office to launch fixed line, “pay-as you-go” telephony services in the UK from Nov 19.

The deal marks the The Post Office’s first move into fixed line telephony since it was divested from British Telecommunications in 1981.

Tele2 AB’s chief executive officer, Lars-Johan Jarnheimer, said the deal provided it with “a very strong platform from which to attack the UK market” – the only major European country where it does not offer fixed line services.

Tele2 will provide the telecommunications expertise and infrastructure and The Post Office the branding and distribution network for the new service which will be positioned as a low cost brand for national long distance, international and fixed to mobile calls, and will, Tele2 said, offer customers substantial savings.

The service will be pre-paid, with customers topping up a credit balance directly from their Post Office by standing order or by credit card.

The initial offer will include an i-hear phone with a pre-select facility. Tele2 has already used this format for marketing fixed line telephony in France, Germany and other European countries, it said.

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