TeliaSonera sticks with Ericsson, NSN for LTE

TeliaSonera has named Ericsson as the lead supplier of its core LTE network and Nokia Siemens Networks as the prime contractor for the radio access network.

 

The two-year contracts, announced today, cover LTE  deployments in the Nordic and Baltic states, including Sweden's 25 largest municipalities and 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,” said TeliaSonera senior VP and CTO, mobility services Lars Klasson.

 

TeliaSonera launched 4G services to customers in Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway at the end of 2009, the first carrier to rollout a commercial LTE network. 

 

While Huawei supplied the Oslo network it was not selected for the full deployment and continues to finalize the city network.

 

The worth of the final contracts were not disclosed. However, TeliaSonera' said in December that the capex for the LTE buildout in 2010 in Norway and Sweden would come to 500 million Swedish kronor (€49m).

 

In addition to the full Swedish and Norwegian rollouts, the operator also expects to launch LTE services in Finland this year, where it has just secured a new license. The carrier is also bidding for 4G spectrum in Denmark in Q1 this year.