Tele2 was founded as a European company in 1993 to offer telecom services to both domestic and business customers.

[1] Tele2 Netherlands was launched in 1997 and was the first Dutch company to provide IP-VPN network services.

In July 2005, the Dutch portion of Versatel was sold to Tele2 for 1.1 billion euro.

[2] The European commission concluded that both Tele2 and Versatel lacked the marked power to foreclose competition and allowed the sale to close.

[7] As part of the purchase, Tele2 AB acquired a 25% share in T-Mobile Netherlands.