Saunalahti puts off development in Estonia

  • 2004-11-01
  • From wire reports
HELSINKI - Although Finnish mobile-communication operator Saunalahti sees much potential for growth in the Estonian market, starting business on the opposite coast is not part of its 2004 plans, Finland's Kauppalehti reported.

The European Computer Telecommunications Group has developed a network solution for Saunalahti that contains country-specific answers for the Estonian market, reports earlier said.

Matti Vikkula, CEO of the Saunalahti concern, said that because Saunalahti does not plan to immediately start operation in Estonia, it was regretful that details of the order were made public.

"It would be premature to assume that we're going to Estonia. We have enough work to do with our virtual solutions in Finland, so we're not going fishing farther out to sea," Vikkula said, adding that the company's plans "at least for this year" did not include venturing into the neighboring Baltic state.

Vikkula admitted, however, that there were limited opportunities for growth in Finland, and that additional opportunities could be searched for in Estonia, among other places..

"We are a growth business by our nature," he said, adding that the country-specific solutions could be obtained without additional costs

Estonia currently has three mobile-communication operators that have built their own networks - EMT, Radiolinja and Tele2. Bravocom, a company based on Estonian equity, has officially announced plans to enter the mobile communications market as a virtual operator.