Tele2 Eesti, Estonia’s largest alternative telco, has contracted Siemens to build it a complete W-CDMA 3G network in Estonia. Siemens will also be supplying Tele2 Eesti with radio and core equipment for its GSM network and upgrading existing circuit- and packet-switched network elements to ready them for W-CDMA operation.
Tele2 was awarded a 3G concession in August 2003. It originally expressed a keen interest in network sharing, although neither of its rivals seemed as keen to participate. It is obliged by the terms of its licence to launch 3G by 2010.