TeliaSonera has activated the first commercial LTE network in the world. Downtown Stockholm is covered with the Ericsson LTE network and a similar deployment is live in Oslo using equipment supplied by Huawei. Customers can access the LTE service using Samsung LTE dongles.
TeliaSonera said it is delivering up to 100 Mbps downlink rates with both the network and the LTE modem. Typical user rates are expected to be in the 20-80 Mbps range.
The Samsung dongles currently are 4G only, although TeliaSonera expects to offer models with a fall-back to 3G in those locations outside of its LTE footprint.
Ericsson provided TeliaSonera with LTE Radio Base stations, which are part of the new RBS6000 series, an Evolved Packet Core network, a mobile backhaul solution including SmartEdge 1200 routers, the latest EDA multi-access aggregation switch and an Operation and Management System. The LTE system is based on 3GPP standards for Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology and Evolved Packet Core (EPC) technology.
Huawei delivered both network infrastructure and services, including access network gear, core network equipment, operation support systems, and network planning and optimization.
TeliaSonera has three nation wide 4G/LTE licenses; in Sweden, Norway and also recently in Finland. The network roll out is in progress to offer 4G to Sweden’s and Norway’s largest cities.
Evaluation of suppliers for TeliaSonera’s common 4G core network and radio networks in the Nordic and Baltic countries is in progress and vendors will be selected in the beginning of 2010.
“The new era of mobile broadband has just begun today. With LTE, so-called 4G, your mobile broadband experience is moving to unequalled levels. The LTE speed gives you an absolutely effortless feeling of broadband access,” stated Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson.
Kenneth Karlberg, President and Head of Mobility Services, TeliaSonera says: “We are very proud to be the first operator in the world to offer our customers 4G services. Thanks to the successful cooperation with Ericsson we can offer 4G to our customers in Stockholm earlier than originally planned.”http://www.ericsson.com
