Swedish broadband operator Bredbandsbolaget yesterday paid an undisclosed sum for 100% of competitor TeleCyber Sweden AB, merging the two group’s broadband network plans to compete more effectively with incumbent carrier Telia AB.
The two Stockholm-based companies are both just over a year old, with TeleCyber having started to generate revenue with an internet offering in the second quarter of this year, according to its CEO Frederik Grunewald. We’re also already testing our video-on-demand and application service provider offerings right now, he went on.
Bredbandsbolaget announced its plans somewhat later (NBD 08/26/99), but has the advantage of counting such heavyweights among its shareholders as Intel Corp and Investor, the investment vehicle of Sweden’s powerful Wallenberg Group.
TeleCyber is actually further advanced than its buyer, in that it has already defined the architecture for its broadband network, including an order with equipment supplier Net Insight AB for its proprietary DTM technology for transmission and traffic management (NBD 08/04/99).
While Grunewald said the two groups have only just begun the process of integration of their respective network plans, yesterday’s acquisition should represent a significant market opportunity for Net Insight, which is still preaching the gospel of DTM. Bredbandsbolget CEO Peter Ekelund hinted that TeleCyber’s technology roadmap may prevail in announcing the acquisition, commenting that with TeleCyber’s advanced technology for broadband access and Bredbandsbolaget’s financial strength, a much stronger company is now being created.
