Ericsson seals TeliaSonera 4G deal

In a statement released on Wednesday, Swedish-Finnish telecoms provider TeliaSonera said Ericsson would deliver the two capitals’ core 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. Ericsson will be joined by Nokia Siemens Networks for the delivery of TeliaSonera’s radio networks.

Over the last year, Ericsson has been responsible for the roll-out of TeliaSonera’s LTE network in Sweden, while rival Chinese firm Huawei performed the equivalent task in Oslo.

Though Huawei will continue to finalize the Oslo LTE network, Ericsson’s Nordic president Mikael Bäckström was thrilled with the decision to award his company the contract for the entire core network, which entails extending TeliaSonera’s high speed 4G coverage from city centre areas of Stockholm and Oslo to the 25 largest municipalities in Sweden and the four largest in Norway.

“As we move into next generation mobile networks with increased data traffic, securing network quality will be vital. We have delivered our latest solutions and gained TeliaSonera’s confidence in our ability to provide leading technology and services,” said Bäckström in a statement.

Ericsson suffered a setback last month when Telenor and Tele2’s joint venture Net4mobility selected Huawei to roll out its new 4G network.

The fourth generation of mobile wireless standards, 4G is the fastest mobile technology available, reaching speeds “up to ten times higher than today’s turbo 3G”, according to TeliaSonera.

“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’s Mobility Services vice president Lars Klasson.