STOCKHOLM, Sweden, June 02, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- TeliaSonera: on June 4 this summer it was 150 years ago since the first electric data transmission started between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. The first electric telegraph line was completed between the two cities on June 4, 1855. TeliaSonera International Carrier's history in Russia goes as far back as to 1855. Today the company is one if the leading international providers of IP solutions in the region.
The link between St. Petersburg and Helsinki was built on the request of Tsar Nikolas I and it was completed on June 4, 1855. The telegraph network, built originally for military purposes, started a new era, during which Russia has made the transition from agrarian society to global information society.
The Russian military authority was in charge of building the telegraph line, and in Russia -- as in other European countries -- telegraph was announced a State monopoly. The Telegraph Office of Russia had authority over the telegraph districts, including the district of Finland.
And so the foundation for the development of today's telecommunications was laid in Russia. The telegraph enabled fast national connections and the attendants of the telegraph offices would deliver telegrams to their intended recipients in urban areas.
The telegraph network expanded gradually in Russia. Its development was primarily guided by administrative and military interests. The change from manually switched traffic to subscription-based traffic started a transition, allowing the customers to use the terminal by themselves and contact the recipient directly. From this, the step to the telegraph's modern successors, the mobile phone and the Internet, was a short one.
TeliaSonera International Carrier is a part of this history by its sister company TeliaSonera Finland. TeliaSonera International Carrier is providing international IP, voice and capacity solutions and is today one of the leading providers of international IP solutions in Russia. TeliaSonera International Carrier has two offices in Russia - in St Petersburg and in Moscow.
"We are proud to be part of this history and to take part of the future of the telecommunications in Russia," says Eila Rummukainen, Managing Director at Teliasonera International Carrier in Russia. "Telecommunications in Russia has come a long way since 1855. Today we see an increasing demand for IP and voice solutions. The customers need for power and speed is increasing constantly in order to access all the possibilities that the convergance between the Internet, data and telephony creates."
"Russia is an important market for us. We see many possibilities for further develop our business. To a country as big as Russia it is even more important for people to reach each other and to easily share knowledge and information. 2005 offers an imense amount of possibilities for this," Eila Rummukainen says.
Source of historical facts: Telecommunications since 1796 by Oiva Turpeinen, Telecom Finland Ltd, 1997
About TeliaSonera International Carrier
TeliaSonera International Carrier provides wholesale international IP, capacity and voice services to selected high volume destinations in Europe and across the Atlantic. The company has two offices in Russia -- in St Petersburg and in Moscow. The services are based on TeliaSonera International Carrier's wholly owned European and trans-Atlantic networks. As well as owning one of the largest network footprints in Europe, TeliaSonera International Carrier also has peering points in the US. TeliaSonera International Carrier is the leading carrier of IP and voice traffic in the Nordic and Baltic Sea regions, and has extensive reach into Eastern Europe. TeliaSonera International Carrier is a company fully owned by the TeliaSonera Group. For more information visit our web site www.teliasoneraic.com
Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in the press release relating to future status or circumstances, including future performance and other trend projections are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to many factors, many of which are outside the control of TeliaSonera.
TeliaSonera is the leading telecommunications company in the Nordic and Baltic regions. At the end of December 2004 TeliaSonera had 15,411,000 mobile customers (51,359,000 incl associated companies) and 8,312,000 fixed telephony customers (8,943,000 incl associated companies) and 2,017,000 internet customers (2,056,000 incl associated companies). Outside the home markets TeliaSonera has extensive interests in the growth markets in Russia, Turkey and Eurasia. TeliaSonera is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Net sales January-December 2004 amounted to SEK 81.9 billion (EUR 9.08 billion). The number of employees was 29,082.
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