Tet (company)

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Tet is a Latvian telecommunications and technology company. It used to be called Lattelekom and Lattelecom. Today, Tet provides internet, phone, TV, IT services, and even entertainment. Since 2017, it has also operated as an electricity provider.

Ownership and group
- 51% of Tet is owned by the Latvian government; 49% is owned by Telia Company (TeliaSonera).
- Tet owns 23% of Latviešu Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT), Latvia’s largest mobile operator.
- Tet Group includes five companies: SIA Tet, Lattelecom BPO, Citrus Solutions, Lattelecom Technology, and the Baltic Datoru Akademija (Baltijas Datoru Akadēmija). The group focuses on internet, voice, TV, IT solutions, and business services for homes, small businesses, and institutions.

History in brief
- Tet began as a state company in 1992, built from old Soviet telecom infrastructure.
- In 1994, a foreign-backed partnership led to Lattelekom (majority-owned by TeliaSonera later). The company had a monopoly on fixed-line services in Latvia for many years, until 2003.
- In 2006, Lattelekom was rebranded to Lattelecom, with part of the group renamed (Lattelecom Technology, Lattelecom BPO, Citrus Solutions).
- In 2019, Lattelecom began using the Tet name again. Some divisions kept newer brand identities like Helio and Shortcut for entertainment services.

Products and services
- Tet Internet: Latvia’s largest internet provider, offering DSL (ADSL2+, VDSL), fiber optic GPON, wireless, Wi‑Fi, and 4G internet. In 2009, fiber speeds reached up to 1 Gbps in many areas.
- Fiber rollout: Initial fiber started in Zolitūde (Riga) in 2009, then expanded to other cities. By 2012, fiber connected hundreds of thousands of Latvian households and many towns.
- Tet TV and online TV: Lattelecom TV grew to be a major TV service in the Baltic region, offering Terrestrial TV, Interactive TV, and Internet TV. Since 2011, TV content could be watched on mobile devices as well, making Tet a pioneer in Latvia for watching TV on phones and tablets. In 2016, the Shortcut entertainment platform was launched, and later Tet continued to expand online streaming.
- Digital TV: Lattelecom Terrestrial TV delivered digital broadcasts and free-to-air channels starting in 2009.
- Tet TV+: Online and on-demand TV services are available, including streaming to multiple devices.
- Wi‑Fi network: Tet has thousands of Wi‑Fi access points across Latvia (thousands of hotspots).
- Baltic Highway: A major data route opened in 2012 to transfer data quickly between Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and Russia, with high capacity and direct routes for Europe and the Baltic region.

Privatisation and status
- Tet was once a state-owned company. In 1994, 49% of the shares were sold to Cable & Wireless and Telecom Finland (later part of TeliaSonera). TeliaSonera later bought the stake, so Latvia still owns 51% while Telia controls 49%.

Summary
Tet is Latvia’s leading telecom and IT group, combining internet, phone, TV, and technology services with a government-backed ownership structure. The company has a history of major brand changes, from Lattelekom to Lattelecom and now Tet, while expanding fiber networks, TV services, and cross‑border data infrastructure in the Baltic region.