Telenor's 4G Saga

Telenor’s 4G saga

Telenor Group has tested LTE (4G) since 2009. There are 1 million LTE compatible devices in our footprint – excluding Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. So far, we have launched 4G in Sweden, Norway, Hungary, Montenegro and Denmark. By June, DiGi will follow.

Telenor has always been a technology leader. We have been a pioneer in developing mobile communications, such as NMT and GSM. We are among the top players when it comes to global deployment of 3G and 4G. With our diversified portfolio of companies, we will see 2G, 3G and 4G co- exist in our footprint for quite some time.

Starting too early is not always an advantage

TeliaSonera was the first to launch 4G in Norway and Sweden in December 2009, with a very limited coverage. Due to lack of 4G capable terminals in the marketplace, Telenor chose not to launch 4G as we saw no point in deploying a network if there are no terminals available to use it. What is more, Telenor wanted to secure good coverage in the major cities and densely populated before publicly launching the service.

4G kick-start in the US, Japan and South-Korea

Today, the United States, Japan and South-Korea are the fastest growing LTE markets. Part of the reason for this is that the US chose a different 3G technology with a lower system capacity than the prevalent 3G technology used by Telenor and most other operators. Hence, the US has had a stronger need than their European peers to move on to the next generation mobile network. South-Korea and Japan have become the most advanced LTE markets, partly as a result of their government’s policies of strong support of broadband deployment.

500 million 4G subscribers expected by 2015

The total number of 4G subscribers worldwide is expected to increase to nearly 500 million in 2015. There are 1 million LTE compatible devices in Telenor’s footprint – excluding Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. On 15 November, 2010 Telenor Sweden became the first business unit to launch LTE in Telenor Group. Telenor Hungary was next, launching on 5 July, 2012. Telenor Norway followed on 10 October and Telenor Montenegro, same year. Telenor Denmark launched in March 2013 and by end of June DiGi in Malaysia will become our first Telenor business unit in Asia to launch.

Telenor Group is one of the world's major mobile operators. We keep our customers connected in our markets across Scandinavia and Asia. Our more than 30,000 employees are committed to responsible business conduct and being our customers' favourite partner in digital life. Connecting the world has been Telenor's domain for more than 160 years, and we are driven by a singular vision: to empower societies. Senior Specialist Rune Rækken in Telenor Group has been working with 2G, 3G and 4G technologies. We asked him a few questions with regards to 4G deployment with particular focus on roll out in Asia. Q: What are the biggest challenges for an operator like Telenor when it comes to deploying in Europe? A: Well, one of the biggest challenges is that there are very few LTE terminals in the marketplace, and the ones available have been data devices only. The common voice solution for LTE, allowing full mobility between LTE, 2G and 3G services is still under finalisation. As an interim solution voice calls to/from LTE smartphones are redirected to 2G or 3G. This interim solution was implemented by Telenor as the first operator in Norway in December 2012, opening up the LTE network not only for data only terminals, but also for LTE enabled smartphones, hence being a big leap forward for LTE. To make the LTE network offload the 3G network in a cost-efficient way there must be a certain penetration of LTE capable terminals in the market. First phase of any 4G deployment should therefore be to push such terminals in the marketplace. Q: Today, not only youngsters from 14 years of age wish to have mobile broadband subscription for both smartphones, tablets and PC but also persons of 60+ years of age are using smartphones and mobile broadband. What’s more, they all want access to Internet anywhere and at any time. How do we best meet this demand? A: The best way to do this is to ensure seamless interaction between 2G, 3G and 4G networks, so that we at all times can provide our customers connection to the network available that gives them the best user experience. Q: When it comes to LTE rollout in Asia, any recommendations as to what strategy to follow? A: Start deployment of LTE primarily as a capacity enhancement in congested 3G areas. LTE is a more cost efficient technology than 3G. It utilizes spectrum better, has longer life-span, its flat All-IP architecture scales better with capacity. When penetration of LTE capable terminals increases, then boost network to meet market requirements. Q: Is it possible to leapfrog 3G? A: Yes, but it is not recommended, as significant penetration of LTE smartphones is not expected until 2014 or later. Main growth will be represented by smartphones still using 3G. It is therefore important to plan for tight integration between LTE and legacy network (2G and 3G). This will secure user experience for both voice and data in areas with spot wise LTE coverage, and it will add operator flexibility to deploy LTE only when needed. Furthermore, such integration will enable bundling and can reduce churn. Q: Who would the early adopters be? A: Operators who want to use LTE for offering data services, or who want to use LTE to off-load their 3G network. On the customer side, LTE will be inherent in high-end smartphones, so smartphone users will obviously be early adopters. Pocket routers are becoming popular, using LTE as backhaul setting up Wi- Fi local networks can be attractive for small-medium-sized enterprises or for families without access to fixed broadband or wanting broadband when on the move. Q: How long does it take for critical mass to be reached? A: That, of course, will vary from market to market and depend a lot on operator strategies for pricing and whether or not they decide to actively push LTE-capable devices into the market. In the Nordic region we see a clear strategy to push LTE capable devices into the market. In this part of the world mobile phones are renewed every 18-24 months on average, hence we will see a quick growth of LTE capable terminals. In other regions we currently see smaller interest to push LTE capable devices and growth is therefore expected to be slower. In several of the Asian markets neither 3G nor 4G licenses have been awarded yet. Confidence in governments’ timing and principles for awarding licenses is therefore a pre-requisite when planning LTE deployment and terminal push. Slow processes from the governments will hamper deployment of the future-oriented LTE technology.