IHS Global Insight analyses Telenor Sweden's LTE-based offering, which launched in November 2010.
IHS Global Insight Perspective | |
Significance | Telenor Sweden launched 4G services in November 2010 in four Swedish cities. |
Implications | The operator has begun offering the Huawei tri-mode LTE E398 modem. |
Outlook | Telenor has made plans to bring LTE to 100 Swedish cities by the end of 2011; it is targeting 99% coverage of the Swedish population by 2012. |
Telenor secured its 4G licence in May 2008, paying 548 million Swedish kronor (USD84.25 million) for frequency blocks 2 x 20-MHz in the 2.6-GHz band, with the licence being valid for 15 years. However, its network, constructed as part of the Net4Mobility 4G joint venture (JV) with Tele2, was not commercially launched until November 2010 (see Sweden: 15 November 2010: Sweden Claims Two LTE Operators As Tele2 Network Goes Live). The first cities to receive its LTE services in Sweden were Gothenburg, Karlskrona, Malmo and Stockholm.
In May 2011, Net4Mobility secured frequency blocks of 2 x 10-MHz in the 800-MHz "digital dividend" spectrum; it will pay SEK469 million for a licence that will run up to the end of 2035. Meanwhile, Net4Mobility was also subjected to coverage obligations; it has set aside SEK300 to be used by 2013 to cover permanent homes and fixed places of business in Sweden that do not have a bitrate of 1-Mbps (see Sweden: 7 March 2011: Sweden Gains USD323 Mil. from Digital Dividend Auction). In June 2011, Swedish regulator the Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) announced a new auction of mobile spectrum that will take place in October 2011. Existing licence holders and new entrants can apply for one of two licences in the 1.8-GHz band, which are expected to be technology-neutral. There are no caps on the amount of spectrum that an operator can acquire, thus it will provide Net4Mobility with the opportunity to further increase its spectrum range if it believes this is necessary having already acquired spectrum in 800-MHz and 2.6-GHz bands.
Telenor has thus far launched its LTE service in 27 cities around the country, whilst it has made provisional plans to launch services in a further 100 cities by the end of 2011 has can be seen below. The operator plans to commercially launch LTE in Denmark and Norway in 2012. In December 2009 it partnered with Huawei, via its joint venture Net4Mobility, to develop its LTE services (see Sweden: 21 December 2009: Competition Heats Up in Vendor 4G LTE Market as Huawei Grabs Tele2/Telenor Swedish Order). Telenor has trialled LTE in Oslo, whilst in May it launched an LTE site in Svalbard, which the operator claimed was the northernmost region to have LTE. Huawei said that the deployment proves its SingleRAN LTE cell site is capable of functioning in some of the most unforgiving weather conditions; temperatures drop 50 Celsius degrees below freezing in the winter.
Launch Period | City |
Already Launched | Botkyrka, Burlöv, Danderyd, Göteborg, Helsingborg, Huddinge, Järfälla, Jönköping, Karlskrona, Kungsbacka, Lerum, Lidingö, Linköping, Lomma, Lund, Malmö, Mölndal, Nacka, Norrköping, Nyköping, Partille, Sollentuna, Solna, Stockholm, Sundbyberg, Täby, Uppsala, Visby. |
July 2011 | Karlstad (Hammarö), Staffanstorp, Svedala, Vellinge. |
August 2011 | Ale, Båstad, Eslöv, Falkenberg, Färgelanda, Haninge, Hylte, Höganäs, Kungälv, Kävlinge, Landskrona, Lilla Edet, Svalöv, Tierp, Trollhättan, Tyresö, Uddevalla, Varberg, Vänersborg, Värmdö, Västerås, Åstorp, Örebro. |
September 2011 | Alingsås, Arboga, Bjuv, Bollebygd, Borås, Ekerö, Enköping, Eskilstuna, Essunga, Gnesta, Gävle, Hallstahammar, Heby, Håbo, Härryda, Kalmar, Klippan, Kungsör, Lysekil, Mark, Nykvarn, Nynäshamn, Orust, Perstorp, Sala, Salem, Sandviken, Sigtuna (Arlanda, Stenungsund, Strängnäs, Surahammar, Svenljunga, Söderhamn, Södertälje, Tjörn, Upplands Väsby, Upplands-Bro, Vallentuna, Vaxholm, Vårgårda, Växjö, Öckerö, Örkelljunga, Österåker. |
October 2011 | Halmstad, Trelleborg, Ängelholm. |
November – December 2011 | Borlänge, Falun, Hässleholm, Hörby, Höör, Karlskoga, Kristianstad, Krokom, Laholm, Ljungby, Luleå, Malung, Markaryd, Munkedal, Norrtälje, Ockelbo, Osby, Oxelösund, Simrishamn, Sjöbo, Skurup, Sotenäs, Sundsvall, Söderköping, Tanum, Tomelila, Umeå, Vännäs, Ystad, Åre, Älvdalen, Älvkarleby, Örnsköldsvik, Östersund, Östra Göinge. |
LTE Products and Devices
Chinese vendor Huawei has shipped its tri-mode LTE E398 modem which it launched in December 2010, to Net4Mobility. The device has a maximum download speed of 80-Mbps. Also in December 2010, Net4Mobility selected Transmode to support the construction of its LTE network.
LTE Pricing
Telenor offer its customers two different LTE price plans; Mobile Broadband 80, which has a data cap of 20-GB and will cost SEK399 per month after the introductory first month and Mobile Broadband 80 Free Surf, which offers unlimited data usage in Sweden and is available for SEK549 per month after the first introductory month. Both plans are available on 24 month contracts for SEK99 for the first introductory month, with the modem being supplied for free.
Mobile Broadband 80 | Mobile Broadband 80 Free Surf | |
Price per month (First Month) | SEK99 | SEK99 |
Price per month (After First Month) | SEK399 | SEK549 |
Data Cap | 20-GB | Unlimited |
Modem Cost | Free | Free |
Contract Length | 24 Months | 24 Months |
Outlook and Implications
- Very Competitive Market: The Swedish market is a very competitive region in terms of commercial LTE deployments. TeliaSonera leads the way in LTE, having commercially launched its services in December 2009 (see Sweden: 25 January 2011: TeliaSonera's LTE Service—Case Study). As well as TeliaSonera, Telenor will also face price competition from its Net4Mobility partner Tele2. Telenor and Tele2 are constructing an LTE network together; however the two operators are still competing with each other in terms of pricing. Increasing use of LTE services in Sweden will only help to encourage price wars even further. At the end of June 2011 Telenor Sweden had 379,000 large-screen mobile broadband subscriptions.
- Fresh Spectrum Auction to Take Place: Swedish regulator PTS announced there was to be a fresh auction for mobile spectrum to take place in October 2011 (see Sweden: 02 June 2011: Sweden Announces Fresh 1800-MHz Spectrum Auction). Two licences in the 1800-MHz bandwidth will be available with both existing licence holders and new entrants able to participate. Demand for bandwidth for mobile broadband and data services is increasing, thus the spectrum is likely to be used for the delivery of LTE services.
Related Articles
Seven previous LTE case studies can be accessed here:
- Austria: 9 May 2011: A1's LTE Service—Case Study
- Denmark - Finland - Norway - Sweden - Estonia - Uzbekistan: 25 January 2011: TeliaSonera's LTE Service—Case Study
- Germany: 04 July 2011: Deutsche Telekom's LTE Service—Case Study
- Germany: 31 January 2011: Vodafone Germany LTE Service—Case Study
- Japan: 3 February 2011: NTT DoCoMo's LTE Service—Case Study
- Netherlands - Norway - Sweden - Estonia - Lithuania - Russia: 15 February 2011: Tele2's LTE Service—Case Study
- South Korea: 08 July 2011: SK Telecom's LTE Service—Case Study
- United States: 9 December 2010: MetroPCS LTE Service—Case Study
- United States: 18 January 2011: Verizon Wireless' LTE Service—Case Study