Analogue signal to go this year; GSM/EDGE coverage expands

At the end of this year TeliaSonera’s analogue NMT mobile network will be shut down, with remaining users to be migrated to its GSM network. The NMT service is still popular with users in remote regions of Sweden, as it is the only available network in certain areas, but TeliaSonera has promised major improvements in GSM coverage to take its place. ‘We have received many calls primarily from worried customers in sparsely populated regions wondering what will happen when NMT is shut down. It is therefore with pleasure that we are able to announce that the GSM network already covers more than 80% of Sweden’s surface area. Within a year, we are expecting over 90% coverage,’ said Tommy Ljunggren, head of mobile networks at TeliaSonera. Also by the end of 2007, Telia is scheduled to complete building out its ‘2.75G’ EDGE data network to cover areas not reached by its 3G W-CDMA infrastructure, especially in large swathes of northern Sweden. Its stated goal is to upgrade all GSM base stations to EDGE by the end of the year.