TeliaSonera contracts Ericsson and NSN for Nordic 4G/LTE rollout

TeliaSonera, the first operator in the world to launch 4G services, has selected its vendors for the next stage of its 4G/LTE rollout across Sweden and Norway. The common 4G/LTE core network will be delivered by Ericsson and the radio networks by Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks.

4G mobile broadband allows users to access high-bandwidth services such as video conferencing, real-time web, online gaming or social media collaboration, while on the move

In late 2009, 4G services were made live to subscribers in Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway. The network will be expanded to cover Sweden’s 25 largest municipalities and recreation areas, and to Norway’s four largest municipalities.

“The use of mobile broadband in the Nordic countries is exploding and customers need higher speeds and capacity. Both Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks have been able to provide high quality technology and competitive offers,” stated Lars Klasson, senior vice president and CTO of Mobility Services, TeliaSonera.

The operator has nationwide 4G/LTE licences in the 2.6 GHz frequency band in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The agreement with Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks covers network rollout during 2010 and 2011. Meanwhile Chinese vendor Huawei will continue to finalise the 4G city network in Oslo.

Ericsson has signed commercial LTE contracts with three other operators in addition to TeliaSonera, including Verizon Wireless and MetroPCS in the US, and NTT DoCoMo in Japan. Together with NTT DoCoMo, Ericsson initiated LTE standardisation at the international standardisation body 3GPP in 2004, and has made the largest amount of approved contributions to the group. Ericsson also expects to hold 25 per cent of all essential patents for LTE, making it the largest patent holder in the industry.