Telecom service provider Telenor Norway will improve its LTE coverage to Norwegian customers in early 2014 following the allocation of new 3G and 4G frequencies.
Berit Svendsen, CEO of Telenor Norway, said the telecom operator is ready to improve coverage in every county nationwide, while indoor coverage will be significantly better.
The company on Friday said in new areas Telenor will apply both 800 and 1800 MHz frequencies to build 4G, and supplement with 2600 MHz for further capacity expansions. The base stations that are already provisioned to use the 800 MHz band will be activated in the first quarter of 2014.
In 2013, Telenor upgraded over 2,000 base stations with 3G and 4G.
In addition, Telenor has enabled over 1,000 base stations that will be able to start using the new 4G frequencies.
The telecom is yet to announce the exact date as the operators of the three blocks in the 800 MHz band will have to coordinate commissioning to avoid interference problems.
Earlier, the 800 frequencies were used to provide analogue TV signals to Norwegian homes. In 2014 they will be used to provide Telenor customers with mobile broadband with streaming video and music.
“Over 50 percent of Norway’s population has 4G coverage from Telenor. Many places will see an improvement when the 800 frequency is brought into use. The 800 frequency offers many times more 4G coverage and much better indoor coverage for households and businesses,” said Bjorn Amundsen, vice president and head of Coverage at Telenor Norway.
Meanwhile, TeliaSonera said it has invested in new 4G frequencies in the 800 MHz band in Norway.
“The new frequencies in the 800 MHz band along with more 4G frequencies in the 1,800 MHz band and extended 900 MHz licenses allow an ambitious high speed network roll out to 98 percent of the population in five years in Norway, says Sverker Hannervall, acting Head of Mobility Services.
Today, TeliaSonera offers 4G coverage to approximately 50 percent of the Norwegian population (LTE, 1,800 MHz and 2,600 MHz bands), and high speed 3G access to approximately 85 percent of the population.
Tele2 AB did not obtain any resources in the multiband frequency auction held in Norway on 2 December. Tele2 Norway will now continue its network operations with frequency resources in the 900 and 2100 MHz band, while seeking the opportunity to obtain available resources in the 1800 MHz band.
Mats Granryd, president and CEO of Tele2 AB, said: “We are not satisfied with the outcome of the auction. Our own network covers about 75 percent of the population, and we will continue to provide the Norwegian mobile customers with affordable and easy-to-use mobile services.”
picture source: displayinsight.com
