Omnitele has been at the heart of telecommunications development for 25 years. The industry has changed tremendously during this period, and we have been involved in all the major advancements from the start. When the world’s first GSM network appeared in 1988, it was Omnitele who designed it and managed its construction. Ten years later, we created the application which won the world’s first 3 G license, and designed the resulting network. Today, we are industry leaders for advice on LTE upgrade business cases, LTE network design and network upgrade roll-outs.
1988: A new vision is born
Omnitele was founded in March 1988 with an aim to develop new telecommunication networks and services, while also offering consultancy services to operators in Finland. Jaakko Riihimäki, our visionary founding CEO, was hugely influental in the development of the company. His approach to Omnitele was like that of a father to a child, nurturing the company through its early years, and it was under his guidance that the company would begin to develop an international presence.
1991: The world’s first GSM phone call
In 1988, Omnitele was contracted to design and to manage the construction of world’s first GSM network for Radiolinja in Finland. This was one of the first projects in Omnitele’s history and what put us on the map. This led to the first ever GSM phone call being successfully made in Helsinki on July 1, 1991, by the former Finnish Prime Minister, Harri Holkeri.
1992: Branching out overseas
During the mid-nineties, the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector saw Omnitele go from strength to strength in the international market. The local Finnish telecoms operators who ran the company recognised the importance of gaining international experience to support their business in Finland. They also saw the benefits in offering Omnitele’s expertise to operators abroad. These busy years of growth transformed Omnitele from a Finnish engineering company into a trusted advisor to mobile operators worldwide.
1998: Trusted partner for operators worldwide
By Omnitele’s tenth anniversary the company was firmly established as an international consulting company. Many of the international clients who teamed up with Omnitele in this period of growth are still working closely with us today. For example, Jersey Telecom was one of our earliest international clients whom we first worked with in 1994, and have continued to trust our expertise ever since. In 1998, Omnitele once again served as pioneers in the industry, creating an application that won the world’s first 3G license and designing the resulting network.
2013: Over 25 years of straightforward telecommunications advice
With 25 years of experience, we are always looking to develop our business in order to continue surpassing our customers’ expectations. The latest major development was the recent acquisition of a Dutch entity, which now serves as the Netherlands subsidiary office of Omnitele and is responsible for our performance management services. Our experts work side-by-side with our customers’ personnel, giving them practical advice on the challenges they face and ideas on opportunities for growth. We take pride in our straightforward working approach and look to the future with great optimism as we continue to help operators make the most of industry developments.