Projects & customer stories

Lounea is one of the largest nationwide fibre optic companies in Finland, providing fibre connections to both consumers and businesses. They are continuously building a domestic, high-speed fibre optic network that ensures the functionality of society's telecommunications infrastructure on a national scale. Many of Lounea's projects use Nestor products, including Nestor OptoBoxes. At the end of last year, we had the opportunity to discuss our long-standing collaboration with Marko Sahakangas, Head of Installation Unit at Lounea, and Jutta Valkeinen, Sustainability and Communications Manager at Lounea. 

Lounea is a Finnish fibre optic company experiencing strong growth. It is one of Finland's largest nationwide fibre optic operators providing connections to consumers and businesses and is also a significant expert in ICT and printing solutions. Marko Sahakangas has been working at Lounea for about 15 years, starting his career there in installation roles. 

Sahakangas explained that the collaboration regarding termination products began about three years ago when Lounea decided to test the OptoBox 24 termination box during a cable procurement process. The design of the termination boxes was immediately appreciated for its aesthetic appeal; the light, simple design looks neutral on a building's exterior wall. The termination box quickly proved to be an easy-to-install and practical solution. Many other Nestor customers share this experience with the OptoBox 24, which has received a great deal of positive feedback over its history.

Today, the OptoBox 24 can be found in many of Lounea's fibre optic networks and is regarded as a high-quality and competitively priced product. Lounea's projects have used the OptoBox 24 in a variety of applications, and in some buildings, it is even used as a splice box. In certain solutions, smaller indoor termination boxes, such as the Nestor OptoBox 4, are also used in combination. 

When discussing the OptoBox 24 with Sahakangas, he noted that the product is known to be good and that feedback has been positive. The only issue has been that the OptoBox 24 can occasionally be too small when handling large volumes of fibres. To address this need, we developed the Nestor OptoBox 48 termination box, which has double the capacity.

For Lounea, delivery reliability is the most critical factor in choosing a supplier. Quick responsiveness from the supplier is also essential, especially when a product runs out unexpectedly. Sahakangas shared that working with Nestor has gone smoothly, and he specifically mentioned key account manager Timo Hänninen, who has successfully managed many tight situations.

Jutta Valkeinen, Lounea's Sustainability and Communications Manager, emphasized that sustainability plays a key role in selecting suppliers. Suppliers are expected to adhere to Lounea's ethical procurement guidelines, which cover environmental responsibility, working conditions, and fair business practices. During installation, safety is ensured, and efforts are made to minimize disruption to customers and the environment. 

According to Valkeinen, Lounea's end customers are increasingly interested in fibre optics, with more people recognizing its importance in daily life. Fibre optic networks provide reliable and fast connections that support work, study, and leisure activities. Additionally, fibre optics' capacity can handle the massive data demands of the future. Customers also value fibre as the most energy-efficient and sustainable network solution in the long term.

At Nestor, we are delighted to have collaborated with Lounea for many years and look forward to future joint projects!