Stockholm // 2008-06-11

PacketFront's and NetNordic's expansion in Norway continues with a contract with Tafjord

PacketFront, the pioneers of open-access broadband networking, has in cooperation with its Norwegian partner, NetNordic, signed a contract for building a Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) network for one of Norway's largest regional broadband companies. It is Tafjord which is building a FTTH network for households and businesses in the Ålesund, Giske and Sula districts, in the mid-west part of Norway. The company is planning to invest several hundred million Kronor on fiber over the coming years. The new broadband network and broadband offering will be a further development of their current network.

"We've been evaluating many suppliers and solutions for a long time. NetNordic is a recognized player on the market and PacketFront has a large number of FTTH installations working well all over the world," says Frode Siem, CEO of Tafjord Mimer. "We can now build further upon our existing network with complete modules which will give us great flexibility in the future when it comes to choosing between different service providers. This is important for a regional player like us, which can't be the best at everything, for example, in advanced TV services."

The key component in PacketFront's broadband solution is the award-winning control and provision system BECS. BECS makes it possible for operators to build and run fully automated broadband networks with self-provisioning functionality "on demand". This gives end users the ability to increase capacity and choose services themselves, without needing to wait for a third party to carry out the alterations. PacketFront will also supply Advanced Services Routers (ASR) from the ASR-5000 series to Tafjord.

"We are very pleased with our continued strong growth in Norway," says Niclas Sonesson, CEO of PacketFront. "Our solutions make fast, high-quality fiber-based broadband services with freedom of choice possible for households and businesses, and we see a rapidly growing interest from other network operators and energy companies in Norway."

One of PacketFront's Norwegian partners, NetNordic, is taking care of the design and delivery of the network. NetNordic will also be responsible for implementation and operations.

About Tafjord Kraft and Tafjord Mimer
Tafjord Mimer AS is the leading broadband supplier in the Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal, and is 100% owned by Tafjord Kraft AS. The company was established in 2002, and now has more than 20,000 customers with a turnover of around 100m NOK (2007). The infrastructure is mainly xDSL, but FTTH investment is underway and around 500 customers are now running a fully-fledged Triple Play product over a fiber-optic network. With this investment, Tafjord will consolidate is strong position in the county.

About NetNordic
NetNordic has specialized itself as a system supplier within the fields of business communications and broadband networks, with associated consultancy services, installation and initiation. NetNordic has supplied "triple-play" solutions since 2002, with emphasis on operator neutral networks. NetNordic was established in 2001 and has 35 employees with a turnover last year of 60 m NOK. NetNordic consists of the parent company and the 80% owned consultancy Greenfield AS. 51% of the company is owned by Agder Energi Invest, the founder Tom Solberg and employees and board members. NetNordic's headquarters are in Oslo and there is also an office in Kristiansand.

Related links:

Tafjord Mimer
NetNordic