Telenor Sweden and Tele2 Sweden yesterday activated commercial LTE-Advanced (LTE-A or ‘4G+’) services over their shared 4G network in 108 municipalities across the country. Telenor’s press release says that 4G+ was activated on all base stations currently supporting the advanced technology, mainly in urban areas, aggregating ‘low’ and ‘high’ radio frequency spectrum. Going forward, 4G+ will be activated on all new base stations with high and low frequency bands. ‘This is a natural continuation of 4G technology and the next step in achieving higher and more stable rates in our network,’ said Patrik Nilsson, network expert at Telenor, who added that compared to standard LTE, the LTE-A network is ‘more robust and reduces the risk that users will lose surfing speed when moving, which enhances the user experience … This is where we see the biggest gain with 4G+ technology.’
Via their Net4Mobility joint venture Telenor and Tele2 Sweden operate a 4G LTE network that currently covers 99.5% of the population, and are aiming to reach a target of 90% territory coverage. The 4G radio access network is shared by the two rivals, who operate their own independent core networks.