Talkpool was founded in the year 2000 in the Swiss Alps. The headquarters are still located in Chur, Switzerland as of today. From 2000 until 2004, Talkpool provided consultants and did projects to plan, acquire sites and build the new 3G mobile networks for Sweden’s leading network operators at the time, namely Orange, 3 and Telia. From 2005 until 2010 the work in Sweden shifted towards fixed network, mainly build-out of fiber networks with Tele2 as largest client.

Talkpool rolled out the first generation of automatic meter reading (AMR) solutions in the Nordics between 2008 and 2012. This included overall project management and installation of metering products for electricity- and water consumption.

Talkpool has been active in Central- and Latin America since 2003. The telecom equipment vendor Ericsson selected Talkpool as services partner for the first GSM networks in America, replacing old technology. With a small but multi-skilled team of mostly European engineers, Talkpool built complete networks including switch, BSC, BTS, transmission, Data Transcript, and network optimization activities. Talkpool built, operated, and transferred mobile networks on most countries in and around the Caribbean Sea. From 2012 until 2019 Talkpool improved telecom networks, mainly fixed networks but also wireless, with several hundred employees in Mexico. Talkpool’s activities in the Americas have now been reduced to maintenance of Digicel’s networks in Haiti.

Hundreds of millions of people gained internet and telephone access through Talkpool’s work in Africa from 2007 until 2015. Ericsson was initially Talkpool’s main client with work volumes from Nokia and Huawei increasing later. Talkpool is still active in Africa, with African headquarters in Tanzania.

From 2002 until 2012, Talkpool spread its expertise in telecom network services all over the world. Technical telecom expert consultants were provided to leading network operators and equipment vendors in a wide range of countries on all continents.

Internet is evolving by connecting things that communicate without human meddling. Talkpool took a big bet on Internet of Things. In 2013 Talkpool rolled out networks for Tolouse-based Sigfox in parts of Germany and Italy. LoRa rollouts followed from 2015 in parts of India, Portugal, USA, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, and Sweden. Talkpool not only built the IoT networks but also developed network nodes such as network server and application server. From 2018, Talkpool built LoRa networks throughout Norway, Denmark and Sweden, further laying the infrastructural foundation for the future. Talkpool’s LoRa network in Scandinavia (Nordic IoT Networks) was sold to the IoT operator Netmore for approx. €750’000 in Netmore shares at the end of 2020.

From 2013 until 2018, Talkpool rolled out mobile network sites for Nokia in Germany. Deutsche Telekom contracted Talkpool in 2017 to plan fixed networks. This activity, combining asset management with geographical tools to visualize fixed networks on maps has increased. Deutsche Telekom has developed into an important client as it improves its fixed network structure. Germany is a key growth market for Talkpool for the years 2021 until 2025.

In 2015, Talkpool started its Internet of Things lab in Sweden. The lab has been developing various solutions ranging from ski-school tracker for Switzerland, gas/oil measurements in the Netherlands, LoRa network nodes, software platform in Kuwait, connecting hospital devices in Saudi and the first connected drain in Sweden. After initially developing all kinds of solutions for various industries, the focus has narrowed in on buildings. Talkpool has developed in-house solutions for measuring water-, electricity- (and gas-) consumption in individual homes and businesses. In addition to this basic metering, Talkpool has developed solutions for fresh and healthy indoor air, energy optimization, mold prevention, water leakage prevention, radon measurement and other solutions focusing on sustainable buildings while creating healthy environments.

LCC Pakistan was acquired in 2017 with an idea to establish a strong in-house low-cost development hub. LCC Pakistan has developed its own telecom site solution that manages buildings/cabinets, energy, and environmental features on telecom sites. The site solution system has been completely revamped for a re-launch in 2021. Most telecom network sites have been sold from the network operators to specialized real estate tower companies that are interested in increasing efficiency and reducing manpower by digitizing sites. Electricity supply from utilities is patchy in many developing countries. By providing solar power and cycling batteries, and thereby reducing generator run-time, Talkpool has massively reduced CO2 emissions on many thousands of sites in developing countries. Talkpool has implemented this kind of solutions since 2010 in many countries in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. With the in-house experience and improved site solution, this business is set for growth in the years 2021 until 2015.

After going through an Initial Public Offering on Nasdaq First North in 2016, Talkpool embarked on a growth path in three steps. As part of the first step to strengthen network services positioning, Talkpool acquired three profitable network services companies:

The first acquisition of Camouflage BV in the Netherlands at the end of 2016 went very well. The profitable niche of camouflaging telecom sites on Churches, advertising poles, rooftops and building facades in Belgium and the Netherlands has been complemented by telecom site maintenance work and other network services.

The Brussels-based telecom equipment repair-shop Technetix NV was acquired in 2017. The Belgian business did not change much during the first years after Talkpool’s acquisition. A collaboration with DHL allows us to pick up the faulty communication equipment anywhere, repair it within DHL facilities and efficiently return the functional equipment. Clients include cable TV equipment, military forces around Europe and specialist high-security communication.

The third acquisition of Pakistan’s largest telecom services company LCC with over 1’000 employees was also completed in 2017. LCC Pakistan’s first years in Talkpool Group were challenging. After a turn-around in 2020, Talkpool’s company in Pakistan is set to strengthen as growing business hub in the middle east and a low-cost development hub.

Talkpool has entered its second phase of development whereby it plans to complement organic growth with acquiring companies digitizing buildings and sites. In the years 2021 until 2025, Talkpool is particularly interested in acquiring the following kind of businesses with recurring long-term agreements:

• measuring consumption of water and electricity in buildings
• maintenance services for telecom sites (with a clear return on investment by deploying Talkpool’s telecom site solution)

If you have information about potential acquisition targets, please contact magnus@talkpool.com