Telenor announced that it has completed its vendor selection process for the future network in Norway. Ericsson will modernise and build the Telenor’s 5G radio access network (RAN).
The modernisation will take 4-5 years. Due to this, Telenor will use equipment from existing RAN vendor Huawei to maintain the 4G network and also upgrade to 5G coverage in selected areas of Norway. This is to ensure that Telenor Norway’s customers have the most optimal user experience and can continue to enjoy a fast and reliable mobile network during the modernisation.
The radio access network represents the outer layer of the mobile network ensuring the end customer connectivity. The inner layer, represented by the core network, is being upgraded through our agreements with Nokia and Ericsson, as previously announced. The core network is where the services to the customers are produced and they are delivered over the radio access network. The full mobile network, including core, is planned, operated and managed by Telenor Norway.
In Norway, after recently having launched Scandinavia’s largest 5G pilot at Elverum, Telenor is already in the midst of the process of building 5G in the city of Trondheim.
Since 2018, Telenor has launched 5G pilots in a number of locations in the Nordics and Asia. The testing is carried out with the main network vendors to evaluate what different technology solutions are available, and to identify Telenor’s own requirements for the new 5G network. Currently, the Telenor Group is testing 5G in ten locations in Norway as well as selected areas in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Thailand and Malaysia.
Sigve Brekke, CEO, Telenor Group
When selecting the vendor for the radio access network, we have considered important factors like technical quality, ability to innovate and modernise the network, commercial terms and conditions, as well as carried out an extensive security evaluation.
Petter-Borre Furberg, CEO, Telenor Norway
As the first mobile operator on 5G in Scandinavia, Telenor will ramp up the roll out of 5G to our customers in Norway in 2020.
