SAN JOSE and FORNEBU, October 5, 2017 – Telenor and Cisco today announced their support to launch “WorkingGroupTwo” (WG2), a new business entity that will offer mobile operators a cloud solutions platform designed to radically increase product innovation and reduce time to market.

Many mobile operators have struggled to bring new innovative services to market fast enough. The launch of the WG2 platform will help accelerate the pace of product innovation in order to stay relevant for customers. Using the platform, mobile operators will be able to quickly launch new services across IoT and other industry verticals, and better position their business to sell to enterprise customers. 

“The “WorkingGroupTwo” platform is a Telenor innovation. I am proud that we as a company are able to leverage new technologies to make a pioneering telco platform with the potential of bringing the whole industry forward. We are firmly committed to supporting “WorkingGroupTwo”, and want to give the entity the freedom to unleash wider industry eco-system dynamics. For this reason we have also set up a strong global partnership with Cisco,” said Sigve Brekke, CEO of Telenor Group.

“Cisco’s partnership with Telenor to launch “WorkingGroupTwo” demonstrates how we are driving positive change for our customers,” said Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco.  “Our joint efforts will help mobile operators automate the delivery of mobile cloud services and deliver innovation at a faster pace.”

Erlend Prestgard has been appointed CEO of “WorkingGroupTwo”.

“Our aim for the new company is that it will bring the internet ecosystem dynamics closer to the telco industry. We want it to be easy to become an operator, and to make new products. Our mission is to expose the powerful capabilities of operators to a wider community, and together with partners, we hope to build products that consumers have never seen before,” said Prestgard.

About Telenor

Telenor Group is one of the world’s major mobile operators. We keep our customers connected in 13 markets across Scandinavia, Central Eastern Europe, and Asia. More than 30,000 employees are committed to responsible business conduct and being our customers’ favourite partner in digital life. Connecting the world has been Telenor’s domain for more than 160 years, and we are driven by a singular vision: to empower societies. 

About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that has been making the Internet work since 1984. Our people, products, and partners help society securely connect and seize tomorrow's digital opportunity today. Discover more at newsroom.cisco.com and follow us on Twitter at @Cisco.

About “WorkingGroupTwo” (WG2)

“WorkingGroupTwo” is a company offering a mobile-core-network as-a-service and as-a-platform. WG2 combines the use of modern technologies with the reach of mobile operators to create new offerings. Our purpose is to radically enhance the innovation capacity of the mobile industry by making mobile telecom services even more relevant and useful to customers. Board and employees own about 5% of the company, with Telenor and Digital Alpha LLC owning the remaining shares in equal proportion.

Birger Magnus has been appointed Chairman of the Board of WG2.

Press contacts: 

Atle Lessum, VP, Telenor Group Communications al@telenor.com / +47 415 05 645

Sara Cicero, Sr. PR Manager, Service Provider Business, Cisco stutzes@cisco.com / +1 770 236 2181

Erlend Prestgard, CEO, “WorkingGroupTwo” erlend@wgtwo.com / +47 454 29 555