Televerket was the public utility company responsible for telecommunications in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 between 1953-1993; however, it originated 100 years earlier.

Swedish Kongl. Elektriska Telegraf-Werket (literally: Royal Electric Telegraph Agency) was founded in 1853. Its name changed to Kongl. Telegrafverket in 1871, Kungl. Telegrafverket in 1903, the Kungliga (Royal) was dropped in 1946 and the name was further modernised to Televerket in 1953. The company continued as a government agency until corporatisation in 1992-1993.

19th Century

Kongliga Elektriska Telegraf-Werket was founded in 1853 when the first electric telegraph line was established between Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

 and Uppsala

Uppsala

- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...

, and was the government agency for telegraph and postal services. From 1871 the company was known as Kongl. Telegrafverket. The first telephone network in Sweden opened in 1880, as a result of an initiative by former Telegrafverket employees. As telecommunication technology changed, Telegrafverket expanded to include telephone services, but entered the early telephone industry in Sweden as a latecomer. Through securing a national monopoly on long distance telephone lines, it was able with time to control and take over the local networks of quickly growing private telephone companies. Its network, branded Rikstelefon, was supplied with telephones produced by Swedish telephone manufacturers Ericsson

Ericsson

Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...

.

20th Century

While the telecommunications industry in Sweden has always been ostensibly open, Telegrafverket effectively monopolised the market with its purchase of the telephone company Stockholms Allmänna in 1918. When Telegrafverket was renamed Televerket in 1953, the parent company and its subsidiaries had a de facto national monopoly because no other companies had the financial or technical resources to compete.

From 1980 onwards this monopoly was eroded with increasing government liberalisation of the industry. From 1980 the Swedish parliament, or Riksdag

Parliament of Sweden

The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...

, opened the market to allow competitor's telephones to be connected to the network. In 1988 Televerket's subsidiary company Teli, responsible for the design and manufacture of telephones, ceased production.

In accordance with the deregulation of the Swedish parliament (Riksdagen) and its Telecommunications Act of 1 July 1993, Televerket was made into a corporation, Telia

Telia

Telia may refer to:*Telia - part of the reproductive cycle of Rusts*Telia Digital-tv - a Swedish TV platform*Telia, Nepal - a village in Nepal*TeliaSonera - a Swedish/Finnish telecom operator*Telia Challenge Waxholm - Golf tournament...

 AB. Thus making Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 the first Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an country to deregulate its telecom market.

Televerket in the 21st Century

Telegrafverket and Televerket telephones remain highly collectible, and there is now a market for reconditioned phones that can connect to modern networks. Worthy of notice is that old telephone poles and such are still marked with the Televerket logo. Telia has since merged with the Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 Sonera, and is now known as TeliaSonera

TeliaSonera

TeliaSonera AB is the dominant telephone company and mobile network operator in Sweden and Finland. The company has operations in other countries in Northern, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Spain, with a total of 150 million mobile customers...

.

Some Standard Televerket Phones

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Company Director Generals

• Carl Akrell, 1853-1862
• Pehr Brändström, 1862-1874
• Daniel Nordlander, 1874-1890
• Erik Storckenfeldt, 1890-1902
• Mauritz Sahlin, 1902-1904
• Arvid Lindman
  Arvid Lindman
  Salomon Arvid Achates Lindman was a Swedish Rear Admiral, Industrialist and conservative politician...
  
  , 1904-1907
• Herman Rydin, 1907-1927
• Adolf Hamilton, 1928-1938
• Helge Ericson, 1939-1942
• Håkan Sterky, 1942-1965
• Bertil Bjurel, 1966-1977
• Tony Hagström, 1977-1993

External links

• Telia
• TeliaSonera
• The Swedish Televerket's logotype (quite large file-size)