Nova, Iceland’s third largest cellco in terms of subscribers, has announced the launch of its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in the Reykjanesbaer municipality, the fifth largest administrative region by population in Iceland. According to a company press release, the first phase of the LTE deployment has been completed, and the 4G rollout should be concluded in early September.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, Nova was the first company to roll out commercial 4G network technology in Iceland, with LTE services covering the whole Reykjavik area at its launch. In March 2013 the company won an auction for LTE-suitable spectrum in the 1800MHz and 800MHz bands, alongside Fjarskipti (Vodafone Iceland), Siminn and newcomer 365 Media, by offering the highest bid for frequency bands C and J (2×5MHz at 800MHz and 2×5MHz at 1800MHz). In July 2013, rival Fjarskipti followed suit and launched its 4G network in the Reykjavik area and Borgarnes; the LTE services were later extended to cover Iceland’s second largest urban area Akureyri.
In other news Nova has also announced that it has upgraded its 3G infrastructure by deploying two new HSPA+ transmitters; one is situated in the town of Storabol in the Hafnarfjordur municipality, while the other is in Akureyri, thus extending the cellco’s HSPA+ footprint to Hrafnagil.