TeliaSonera Claims World First as LTE Network Goes Live

TeliaSonera has announced its new 4G LTE network has now been commercially launched, and is available for its customers in the capitals of Sweden and Norway. The Nordic operator says the commercial launch makes it the first operator in the world to roll out 4G services, currently the fastest mobile broadband technology available on the market, with speeds up to 10 times higher than existing enhanced 3G offerings such as HSPA+.

TeliaSonera has launched LTE in Stockholm in Sweden, where the city network is supplied by local equipment vendor Ericsson, and in Norway's Oslo, where the network has been rolled out by Chinese giant Huawei. TeliaSonera says the roll-out will form part of a wider evaluation of suppliers for its common 4G core network and radio networks in the Nordic and Baltic countries and vendors will be selected at the beginning of next year.

Outlook and Implications

• The First Launch of Operational 4G: The TeliaSonera launch represents the live launch of its first 4G LTE network, which it has been constructing for some months (see Sweden: 26 May 2009: TeliaSonera Claims Europe's First Commercial LTE Site). The Nordic giant says the use of mobile broadband in the Nordic countries is exploding and customers need higher speeds and capacity. The operator says the added capacity of the LTE services will make it easier for customers to perform more web-based tasks requiring high transmission speed and capacity, such as web conferences, online games, or web TV. TeliaSonera added that being first out with new technology will give it unique experience that it can use across its markets, and the choice to use two separate network equipment vendors for the two roll-outs in Sweden and Norway is likely to be the beginning of some kind of selection process, whereby the operator will decide upon a favoured vendor for future roll-outs. TeliaSonera has also recently announced it is working with Asian handset giant Samsung to develop a range of PC modems for LTE use (see Sweden: 23 October 2009: TeliaSonera Taps Samsung for LTE Modems). Although it is doubtful whether any of TeliaSonera's customers will yet be equipped to use the LTE network, the operator is forging ahead with the development of fresh technologies to enable this. As TeliaSonera consolidates its investments in Eastern Europe and the CIS (see Russia: 12 November 2009: Altimo and TeliaSonera Agree to Merge MegaFon, Turkcell Assets Into New Company), the company is now looking again to its home markets in the Nordics for growth opportunities.
• Feeding the Nordic Demand for Faster Mobile: TeliaSonera's key Nordic rival Telenor has confirmed it will launch LTE 4G services in Sweden early next year, following the acquisition of licences in both Sweden and Norway in the 2.6GHz band. The operator has also recently signed a deal with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) for a full upgrade of its 3G network to provide 21Mbit/s HSPA+ services, as mobile broadband growth continues in the country (see Sweden: 30 November 2009: Telenor Taps NSN for 21-Mbps HSPA+ Swedish Network Upgrade). Elsewhere, all three of the key Finnish operators including TeliaSonera have secured licences for spectrum ideal for launching 4G services (see Finland: 24 November 2009: Elisa, TeliaSonera and DNA Win Radio Spectrum Auction for 4G Services), and Telenor is upgrading its Danish networks with a view to making them ready for future LTE investment (see Denmark: 18 November 2009: Telenor Denmark Picks NSN for HSPA+/EDGE Network Upgrade). As more and more Nordic users turn their backs on landline connectivity and move to mobile-only telecoms solutions, the operators are racing to deploy new technology to keep up with the demands of the world's most advanced mobile markets.
• Another Key Advance for LTE: Once seen as a European 4G solution, LTE is now seeing customer trials worldwide. In the highly competitive United Kingdom market, Telefónica's O2 UK has announced a trial of the technology this week, and key rival Vodafone is working on tests across its European markets (see World: 1 December 2009: ZTE, Vodafone Germany Team Up on LTE). Even some of the smaller players in less-developed mobile markets are launching LTE trials (see France: 9 December 2009: Bouygues to Trial LTE with Alcatel-Lucent in 2010), as the technology fast becomes the industry benchmark for 4G (see World: 25 November 2009: GSA Survey Reports 42 LTE Commitments in 21 Countries). In the Far East, Hitachi has gained contracts with Japanese giant KDDI for the evolved packet core of the LTE network, which also made use of equipment from bankrupt U.S. vendor Nortel (see Japan: 3 December 2009: KDDI Selects LTE Core as Next-Generation Mobile Broadband Solution from Hitachi and Nortel), and even the previously pro-WiMAX U.S. market is beginning to flirt with LTE solutions. As world leaders such as TeliaSonera drive the growth of LTE solutions, the technology is rapidly establishing itself as the industry benchmark for 4G.