TeliaSonera Opens First Commercial LTE 4G Networks

TeliaSonera Opens First Commercial LTE 4G Networks

Stockholm-based TeliaSonera has launched the first commercial LTE 4G networks in Stockholm and Oslo. The TeliaSonera networks provide 10 times faster broadband links for laptops using Samsung modems. TeliaSonera expects to add mobile devices to the network and build a 4G network in Finland. U.S. carriers are working on LTE.

TeliaSonera has launched the world's first commercial mobile services based on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) -- the final stage in the development of fourth-generation (4G) mobile technology Relevant Products/Services based on the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) standard. Starting Tuesday, laptop Relevant Products/Services users equipped with dedicated 4G modems in Stockholm, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway, can access super-fast mobile broadband connections that are 10 times faster than turbocharged 3G networks can deliver now, the company said.

The use of mobile broadband in the Nordic countries is exploding and customers need higher speeds and capacity, noted TeliaSonera President Kenneth Karlberg. "This is why we launch 4G services in both Stockholm and Oslo," Karlberg said. "Being first out with new technology gives us unique experience that we can use on all our markets" and "we will continue the rollout to offer our customers new communication services for the future."

Waiting in the Wings

Ericsson is supplying the infrastructure Relevant Products/Services for TeliaSonera's 4G city network Relevant Products/Services in Stockholm, while China-based Huawei is delivering the same for the carrier's 4G city network in Oslo. The 4G modems for use in both cities, which are being offered as USB dongles, are being supplied by Samsung Electronics. Though TeliaSonera initially will be targeting laptop users, the company said handheld 4G mobile devices are expected to become available in the next stage of its LTE rollout.

The Nordic carrier also has plans to roll out LTE services in Finland next year using frequencies awarded to the carrier as a result of last month's Finnish 4G frequency auction. TeliaSonera says it will start building its LTE infrastructure in Finland immediately with the aim of opening the network for the first pilot customers during the first quarter of next year.

Though TeliaSonera is first out the gate with LTE, ABI Research noted that other overseas operators with LTE plans include NTT-DOCOMO and KDDI in Japan; Tele2 and Telenor in Europe: and KT and SK Telecom in South Korea, beginning in 2010. However, the research firm's analysts don't expect LTE to have a major impact on the global cellular industry until 2011 at the earliest, when China Mobile intends to launch LTE services in the world's largest cellular market.

Spectrum availability is the primary factor impacting carriers' deployment Relevant Products/Services plans, noted ABI Research Senior Analyst Nadine Manjaro. "In countries where telecommunications regulators are making appropriate spectrum available, many operators have announced plans to launch LTE," Manjaro said. "Where no such spectrum allocations exist, operators are postponing LTE plans."

A $3.3 Billion Investment

Mobile carriers the world over are expected to begin testing LTE technology on their networks beginning in 2010, including Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS Wireless, and U.S. Cellular in the United States. "Vendors will be shipping base-station equipment in significant quantities in 2010 ahead of limited trials that typically last about a year, followed by full commercial launches," Manjaro observed.

ABI Research expects wireless operators to spend about $3.3 billion on an estimated 142,000 LTE base stations worldwide in 2011. Moreover, the firm's analysts forecast that LTE base-station equipment spending should rise sharply between 2011 and the end of 2012.

Most of the estimated 142,000 base stations to be deployed worldwide will have completely new baseband and RF components, Manjaro noted. "Operators will generally try to keep the new LTE networks separate from their legacy networks," she said.

However, the deployment of all these LTE base stations is only the beginning, noted ABI Research Vice President Jake Saunders. "Due to LTE's propagation characteristics and higher frequencies, operators will eventually have to deploy extra sites to iron out gaps in coverage," Saunders said.