5 January, 2005
Fonecta bought the printed telephone directory operations of Kuopion Puhelin

Fonecta and Kuopion Puhelin (KPY) have finalized the sale of printed telephone directory operations from KPY to Fonecta. The purchase concerned the part of the Pohjois-Savo phonebook owned by KPY and Iisalmen Puhelin, acquired by KPY last summer. Close co-operation between KPY, Iisalmen Puhelin and Fonecta will continue after the sale.

“Fonecta has a long tradition in co-operating with teleoperators. The sale of KPY's printed telephone directories and the subsequent co-operation contract further widen this co-operation. We now serve subscribers of all phone service providers in issues relating to the Pohjois-Savo telephone directory. The sale requires no action by the customers. They will continue to receive the free Pohjois-Savo telephone directory,” says Heikki Jämsänen , CEO of Fonecta.

The telephone directory has a long tradition in this region, as the first telephone directory in Kuopio was published 110 years ago. Since 1990, the telephone directory has been called the Pohjois-Savo telephone directory.

“Looks like the printed directory operations in Finland will be concentrated to companies specializing in it. In 2002, we acquired the printed directory operations of Auria, Kestel and Riihimäki Puhelin, and in 2003, the operations of Lounet and TikkaCom. Last year, we acquired the printed directory operations of Kotikaupungin Puhelin. We also have a co-operation agreement on directories with Saunalahti and TDC Song,” continues Jämsänen.

“We believe that this is the right time to give up directory operations, as the directory services are at a turning point; there are more and more takers for the revenue, and the trend is unavoidably towards a market of large actors,” says Juha Nurmi, managing director of KPY Services Ltd.

“Today's directory service operation requires a massive input in the development of the business operation and success requires core competence and specialization. I believe that with the new Fonecta co-operation we can concentrate on the development of our core operations,” explains Nurmi.

The Pohjois-Savo 2005 telephone directory published by Fonecta and KPY has turned out to be a real bestseller. The directory came out in mid-September, and even though the circulation was increased to 165,000, there are only a couple of hundred directories left. For the first time, the telephone directory was distributed to all who wanted it.

Fonecta and Finnet Group annually publish a series of regional telephone directories. The Pohjois-Savo telephone directory, published in September, was the seventh of the 2005 series. According to research conducted by TNS Gallup last March, 90 percent of Pohjois-Savo residents use the telephone directory at home and 95 percent at work. Over 94 percent of users were satisfied with the Pohjois-Savo directory. The same research also concludes that no other printed reference book comes near such numbers.

All directory information provided in the Pohjois-Savo telephone directory will also be available from nation-wide operator-assisted directory services, including directory numbers 118 and 02 02 02. Last year, nearly 50 million calls were made to domestic operator-assisted directory services in Finland , and Fonecta and Finnet Group covered over 75 percent of them.

Further information:

Fonecta Ltd. Heikki Jämsänen, CEO, tel. +358 20 442 2100

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