Comviq

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Comviq (originally Comvik) is a Swedish mobile brand owned by Tele2 since 2009. It began in 1981 when investor Jan Stenbeck aimed to challenge the state telecom monopoly Televerket. Comvik launched Sweden’s first automatic analogue mobile network on 1 July 1981, ahead of Televerket’s NMT network. The government and Televerket clashed, but Comvik was allowed to continue with limited expansion, gaining 27 frequencies while Televerket had 180. Comvik built about 20,000 customers by offering lower per-minute rates and free calls in evenings and on weekends, plus services for small businesses. In 1987 it was named Service Company of the Year by Dagens Industri for breaking the monopoly.

A formal GSM license followed in 1988. Kinnevik used the Comvik experience to build mobile ventures abroad, which became Millicom. In 1991 the GSM network was branded Comviq; the old analogue network continued for a few more years. Comviq GSM merged with Tele2 in 1997, but the Comviq name stayed alongside Tele2 Mobile. The brand became Tele2Comviq in 2004 and was fully renamed Tele2 in 2007. Comviq launched Comviq Kontant, Sweden’s first prepaid card, in 1997.

In 2009, Comviq was relaunched as a price-focused prepaid and postpaid brand under Tele2. Today, Comviq operates on 2G, 4G, and 5G (since 7 September 2021) on the Net4Mobility network (shared with Tele2 and Telenor Sverige) and on 3G UMTS on the SUNAB network (shared with Tele2 and Telia).