Tag: Finland

Telephone lines in Finland will be silenced for good – Elisa

The landline telephone network, which has been in service since the 19th century, will enter a well-deserved retirement when Elisa will discontinue landline connections by 30.6.2026. The change affects both consumers and companies, and is part of the development towards newer and more functional technologies. Elisa will contact landline customers during the spring. The number of landline telephone network users has decreased drastically in recent decades, as Finns have switched to using modern and more functional mobile networks.

Elisa founder Daniel Waden played a significant role in the development of the Finnish landline network. Even in the 1990s, landlines were a familiar sight in Finnish households. As mobile networks and mobile phones developed rapidly in the early 2000s, the number of landlines began to decline significantly. Despite this, many people still remember the landline numbers of family and friends, even after decades.

Now the moment is coming when the telephone wires will finally stop singing on June 30, 2026.

“The change is part of the development towards newer and more functional technologies, and it affects both consumers and businesses. Currently, Elisa’s customers only have a few thousand landline connections, and the number is decreasing all the time. Landline connections have been used in landline telephones, faxes, switchboard solutions and elevator phones, among other things. New connections have not been sold for years,” says Ilkka Pohtola, Business Director responsible for consumer connections at Elisa .

Modern 4G and 5G mobile networks offer users not only a more affordable option, but also a more weather-resistant and technologically capable one. Elisa’s 4G network covers over 99.9 percent of Finns and the 5G network over 97 percent. Elisa has also launched an independent 5G network, which will help to fully utilize the potential of the comprehensive 5G network.

You can keep your landline number

The aim is to make the transition to newer technologies smooth for both businesses and consumers.

The landline network services will operate until the end of June, so you can replace your old one with a suitable alternative during the spring. For business customers, replacement solutions will be mapped out, and they will receive a customer newsletter during January. All consumer customers affected by the change will be contacted by letter at the end of April, and they will be offered a replacement option. In addition, more information is available on Elisa’s website.

It is possible to keep your landline number even if the landline connection itself ceases to exist. There are subscriptions that utilize the mobile network, to which the familiar number can be transferred as is. The subscription can then be used at home, at work or at the cottage with a regular mobile phone or a GSM desk phone similar to a landline.

This is how the shutdown of the landline network progresses:

  • Elisa says it will discontinue landline connections in January 2026.
  • Until spring 2026, landline connections will continue to function as before.
  • Corporate customers will be contacted starting in January.
  • Consumer customers will receive a more detailed customer letter for changing their subscription and phone at the end of April.
  • The landline network will cease operations on June 30, 2026.

More information for consumer customers:  http:// elisa.fi/lankapuhelin
More information for business customers:  https:// linkapuhelin.elisa.fi/ohje/ lankapuhelinverkko

In Finland, smart collars and satellite positioning put every reindeer on the map

For some, Finland conjures up magical images of Lapland, the Northern Lights, Santa Claus and reindeer. Others know Finland as an innovative powerhouse of telecoms and digital technology. Now, a creative innovation from Elisa is bringing both these views together, utilising satellite-based positioning and smart technology to make the daily work of reindeer herders significantly easier and improve the animals’ welfare.

In Finland, reindeer are a normal part of life – a typical herd animal and an important source of livelihood for many people in the wild north of the country. A single reindeer farm can own hundreds of reindeer, which roam freely over vast areas across the frozen landscape in search of food. In the past, tracking their herds required farmers to travel long distances and to have a profound understanding of nature and the local conditions.

Now, Elisa has launched a reindeer tracking service developed in close collaboration with reindeer herders themselves. The system utilises the excellent coverage of Elisa’s mobile network and the Internet of Things to provide precise, real-time data about the location and welfare of each and every reindeer in a farmer’s herd, freeing up a significant amount of time for herders.

A simple yet sophisticated solution

The concept behind the service is simple: a collar with a positioning device is attached to the reindeer’s neck. The collar is designed so that it does not disturb the reindeer. Reindeer herders can monitor the movements and welfare of their herds via an app on their phone or computer, making it easy to follow where their animals are and making their work significantly easier.

“For example, rounding up reindeer from across the wilderness and sorting them or marking and tagging the calves has always been very time-consuming and laborious work. If you know the exact location of each individual reindeer, the work becomes considerably quicker and easier”, explains Markus Ahokangas, Elisa’s Regional Director for northern Finland. “Reindeer also sometimes get trapped in deep snow or by thin ice, and they can get injured by predators or road traffic. This system sends out alerts in real time if an animal’s situation changes, making it much easier for herders to rescue their animals. Without these devices, many of these animals would be trapped in the wilderness with little chance of help.”

Elisa provides the entire solution – positioning device, app and subscription – making it simple to acquire the system and roll it out across the herd.

Similar solutions have been tried before, but the new service takes advantage of the excellent coverage and connectivity of Elisa’s network, which is crucial in the challenging conditions that prevail in Lapland. As reindeer do not respect national borders and will wander between Finland, Norway and Sweden, the system has versatile map views that cover Finland’s neighbours as well.

Developed with reindeer herders to meet real-world needs in challenging conditions

The service has been developed through two years of close collaboration with around 20 reindeer herders in Finland, Sweden, and Norway in real usage environments – the fells, forests and wilderness of Lapland. The aim of the thorough development work was to meet the actual needs that reindeer farmers have, and the system is available to herders in Sweden and Norway as well.

“Our system utilises the latest technology and up to 130 positioning satellites to make sure that location tracking is accurate and extremely precise. Battery life was a core factor in the development of the system, and for example, herders can adjust how frequently the collars send updates to optimise the batteries’ power use and make sure they last throughout the season”, says Jale Naskali, who is responsible for IoT solutions at Elisa.

Reindeer herders have been enthusiastically signing up for the service since its launch in the autumn, with advance sales of hundreds of devices to dozens of customers.

“In Finland alone, there are around 6,000 reindeer herders with about 200,000 reindeer, so there’s a lot of room for growth. We are actively seeking feedback from users to help us in continuing to develop the service. We’re already planning changes and improvements to the map views based on what herders have told us”, says Ahokangas.

With real-time location tracking, reindeer herders can monitor their animals across the vast Arctic landscapes, improving safety and efficiency like never before. Now Santa will always know where Rudolph is.

Nokia News Ireland speaks to the man with 200 #Nokia devices its @Sheridan01

Been an avid super fan of Nokia and a phone collector myself id like to introduce to you to a guy called  Richard Dorman 
Recently i let Nokia into my world and revealed a little about me and my collection you can read that jim o briens collection which now stands at 126.
I got to know Richard via twitter and found out he also has a huge collection,that is how we got talking and now you can see what he has here,just for the record we don’t compete as to who has the most,we just share the same passion.
Over to you Richard.
Hi Jimmy
Q1- Tell us a little about yourself.
Where to start? Well, I am OLD!! I have been a Nokia user for 17 years. I am British and I would probably call Cambridgeshire”home”. I spent 20 years in the catering industry before giving up work to support my wife in her career when moving to America in 2007. Spent two very happy years in the US before moving to Finland. Which leads us to the present day.
Q2-You’re a collector of Nokia devices  – when and where did it begin, and why?
I guess it started almost by accident. I just found one day I had 20 or so Nokia devices. To begin with I wasn’t an avid collector. It happened gradually from about 2007/8 whilst in the US. Then in 2011, I really started to collect. I only had about 50 devices at that point. Now it is nearly 200.
Above is a sample  of his collection and Richard will send us in an updated one with the entire collection soon.
Q3- You’re an avid photographer – when did this all begin?
I have always been the one in the family to take pictures, but the Nokia N8 changed things for me. Something seemed to just click, pardon the pun. From then I have got increasingly more interested in photography and hopefully improved a bit. I do seem to have developed an unhealthy fascination with stars and photography.
FLICKR
Q4- Will you continue collecting nokia phones and what plans have you got for the future?
Yes, I will continue. I have a lot of friends in Nokia and most will be transferring to Microsoft when the deal goes through. I will continue to support those people in their new company and hopefully will continue to collect Nokia devices. I don’t really see any reason to stop, after all there are some great devices I don’t have that I would like.
I would like to thank Richard for taking the time to talk to us,you can also follow his blog here –  onlyfoolsandmobiles