Finnish Telecom's DNA Opts for 4G Expansion, Selects Ericsson to Supply LTE 800 MHz Network to Improve Coverage

Yesterday, Finnish telecommunications company DNA Ltd. signed a deal with Ericsson to expand its mobile communication network with a new, nationwide LTE 800 MHz network. The partnership will also aim at improving DNA’s 3G and 4G networks, which are being made available in new cities and urban areas. It will offer DNA customers more coverage and speed improvement.

According to the Ericsson post “Finnish operator DNA chooses Ericsson for 4G expansion,” the contract expands Ericsson’s engagement with DNA in Finland; the network carrier was chosen based on their high quality technology and competitive total solution for the continuing increase in mobile communications traffic. Ericsson, one of the leaders in the 2G/3G/4G mobile network infrastructure markets, will be the sole supplier of the countrywide LTE 800 MHz network.

In terms of the deal, the project will include the delivery of Ericsson’s multi-standard radio base station RBS 6000 family, to replace the existing 2G and 3G radio base stations (RBS), to cover 80 percent of Finland's population by the end of 2014. Modernizing and expanding its network will not only improve DNA’s Finland network coverage, but it will also greatly enhance connectivity throughout the region and supply the mobile broadband experience (for voice and data services) that is accessible through the high-capacity LTE network. 

Ericsson's Radio Base Station RBS 6000 is the latest generation developed for GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA Evolution and LTE; the system is said to offer new, high-speed mobile broadband connections and services for DNA's 4G LTE network to be available in more than 40 cities and reach over two million Finns.

As part of the agreement, Ericsson will not only carry out the LTE network rollout, implementation and support of spectrum allocation in the 800 MHz band, but it will also provide DNA the following services: installation, civil works, integration, commissioning and associated project management, as mentioned on the Ericsson website. In addition, “Ericsson will deploy multi-standard RBS 6000 base stations and network management solutions and provide support for software and hardware, spare parts management services and initial tuning,” said Robert Puskaric, the Head of Region Northern Europe and Central Asia, Ericsson, about the role of the telecom equipment vendor.

According to Puskaric, the telecom equipment vendor Ericsson will supply the cellular band (800 MHz) network to Finnish mobile operator DNA to deploy their LTE network starting immediately.

Tommy Olenius, Vice President, Technology at DNA, says the company looks forward to continue their close cooperation with Ericsson; in 2012, DNA had turned to Ericsson for a CEM solution to improve its Customer Care center user data consolidation (UDC) and exposure. Lately, knowing Ericsson is a driving force behind LTE communications technology and services, DNA chose its Carrier-Grade Wi-Fi to expand 4G coverage and to give the Finnish customers, businesses and societies the opportunity to support a new generation of mobile broadband users.

The future of mobile broadband, which can be analyzed at an event like LTE World Summit, seems to linked more and more to Long-term Evolution-System Architecture Evolution (LTE/SAE) which is the preferred route for wireless data communications, at least in Finland. In this country, the project in partnership with Ericsson will bring improvements to the existing 3G network, better and wider coverage throughout the country and availability for more people; in fact, it’s supposed to bring the 3G-population coverage up to 99 percent, which is nearly equal to the current GSM coverage, the post tells.