I can certainly understand Telia’s recent changes, as it was one of those operators that set out to “diversify” its business in the 2000s. I have personally sat in a room with Elisa’s top executives while they assured us (the customers) that the traditional telecom business isn’t growing and competition is fierce. Telia’s response involved things like the Helsinki data centers, Cygate acquisitions, and the media business.
Now that these are being dismantled at full speed and the focus is shifting back to wireless and wired data transmission—effectively de-diversifying the business—I wonder if this is still a way to grow, or simply a way to generate better profits?
I would imagine that the media business was an unequivocal mistake, and the mixed IT service sales like Cygate’s were low-margin and labor-intensive. Elisa, as far as I know, has stuck to the old model; their business model includes a diverse range of completely different services, some of which are truly international. In this sense, the operators are moving in different directions.