Estonian mobile operator Tele2 Eesti is to begin offering fiber broadband services using the networks of the telecoms arm of utility firm Elektrilevi. The fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) service will deliver speeds of up to 1Gbps, initially in the towns of Alutaguse, Joelahtme, Mustvee and Valga, but coverage will be expanded to other areas in due course. Elektrilevi says it plans to cover 200,000 homes and businesses with its fibre infrastructure within five years. It is expecting other operators to sign up to use its networks on a wholesale basis.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Tele2 Eesti gained a licence to offer fixed line telephony services in November 2000, but it chose to offer services via wholesale agreements rather than building its own infrastructure. With its fixed customer base dwindling the firm opted to concentrate on the mobile sector, where it controls almost a quarter of the market, but the latest strategic shift will see it offering bundles of fixed and mobile services once more.