Radiolinja
Encyclopedia
Radiolinja was a Finnish
GSM operator founded on September 19, 1988. On March 27, 1991, the world's first GSM phone call was made on Radiolinja's network. The network was opened for commercial use on July 1, 1991.
Radiolinja's slogan was So that Finns can talk more; it became famous through an advertising campaign.
When Radiolinja launched, Finland's incumbent mobile operator, Telecom Finland (later changed to Sonera, now part of Sweden's TeliaSonera
) was already operating a first generation mobile network on the NMT
technology. Thus, Radiolinja's launch was also the start of mobile telecom competition in Europe. Several global firsts happened on the Radiolinja network, including the world's first person-to-person SMS
text message, sent in 1993; the world's first fixed-mobile service bundle, launched in 1996; and the world's first paid downloadable mobile content, a ringtone, in 1998.
Radiolinja's original investors included the Finnet Group, a consortium composed of a number of Finnish corporations and local telephone companies. In the mid-1990s, Elisa
(known then as Helsinki Telephone Ltd) began acquiring a greater stake in Radiolinja, ultimately leading to the mergers of Radiolinja, Radiolinja Origo, and Elisa. At this point, Elisa had also acquired some of Radiolinja's other major stakeholders, such as Soon Communications (previously Tampere Telephone Plc and before that Tampere Telephone Cooperative).
Currently the company is known as Elisa
.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
GSM operator founded on September 19, 1988. On March 27, 1991, the world's first GSM phone call was made on Radiolinja's network. The network was opened for commercial use on July 1, 1991.
Radiolinja's slogan was So that Finns can talk more; it became famous through an advertising campaign.
When Radiolinja launched, Finland's incumbent mobile operator, Telecom Finland (later changed to Sonera, now part of Sweden's TeliaSonera
TeliaSonera
TeliaSonera AB is the dominant telephone company and mobile network operator in Sweden and Finland. The company has operations in other countries in Northern, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Spain, with a total of 150 million mobile customers...
) was already operating a first generation mobile network on the NMT
Nordic Mobile Telephone
NMT is the first fully automatic cellular phone system...
technology. Thus, Radiolinja's launch was also the start of mobile telecom competition in Europe. Several global firsts happened on the Radiolinja network, including the world's first person-to-person SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
text message, sent in 1993; the world's first fixed-mobile service bundle, launched in 1996; and the world's first paid downloadable mobile content, a ringtone, in 1998.
Radiolinja's original investors included the Finnet Group, a consortium composed of a number of Finnish corporations and local telephone companies. In the mid-1990s, Elisa
Elisa Oyj
Elisa Oyj is a Finnish telecommunications company founded in 1882 that was known until July 2000 as HPY. Elisa Oyj employs about 3000 people and in 2007 had revenue of about €1.57 billion...
(known then as Helsinki Telephone Ltd) began acquiring a greater stake in Radiolinja, ultimately leading to the mergers of Radiolinja, Radiolinja Origo, and Elisa. At this point, Elisa had also acquired some of Radiolinja's other major stakeholders, such as Soon Communications (previously Tampere Telephone Plc and before that Tampere Telephone Cooperative).
Currently the company is known as Elisa
Elisa Oyj
Elisa Oyj is a Finnish telecommunications company founded in 1882 that was known until July 2000 as HPY. Elisa Oyj employs about 3000 people and in 2007 had revenue of about €1.57 billion...
.