Ericsson selected as primary vendor for 2G/3G network rollout by Mobile Norway
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Mobile Norway, the joint venture formed by Tele2 Norge and Network Norway has selected Ericsson, a Swedish vendor as the main vendor for the roll-out of a new 2G/3G mobile network in Norway. Mobile Norway plans to roll out a network covering 75% of the population in the ‘coming years’.
There has not been any formal announcement of the financial deal or the time frame for the deployment of the new infrastructure.
In September 2007, Network Norway and Tele2 Norgehad announced their partnership and under the terms of the deal, Tele2 Norge acquired 50% of the shares in AMI, holder of Norway’s third GSM-900 license. After the deal, the 50/50 joint venture Mobile Norway came into existence.
Two months after the announcement the Norwegian government revealed that it had received an application from Mobile Norway for the country’s fourth UMTS license. Mobile Norway was also awarded the license for around NOK47 million after a sealed auction in December that year.
Norway to have 121% mobile penetration by 2010 (Norway)
Norway’s mobile market is a duopoly between the network operators Telenor Mobile and TeliaSonera’s NetCom, supplemented by a small number of MVNOs. Although mobile penetration reached 111% by mid-2007, annual growth rate remains among the highest in Europe. Both Telenor and NetCom offer GSM 900/1800 networked services and 3G services, while new providers include the 3G licensee Mobile Norway which expected to launch commercial services in 2009, and Nordisk Mobiltelefon, operating a CDMA450 network.
Notable highlights of the 3Q08 Norway Mobile Forecast include:
- The number of total subscribers in Norway will increase from 5.5 million in 2008 to 5.8 million in 2010. The wireless penetration level will reach 121% in 2010.
- It is forecasted a change in the market shares of the two operators in Norway – Telenor Mobil and Netcom. It is predicted that Telenor Mobil’s market share will decrease from 57% to 54.5% while Netcom’s market share increases from 43% to 44.7% during the forecast period, 2008 – 2010.
- The pure duopoly of Telenor Mobil and Netcom will continue to allow for the high levels of ARPU in Norway. In 2010, the average ARPU in Norway is expected to be US$ 62 per month.
- It is forecasted that both Telenor Mobil and Netcom will have similar EBITDA margins at around 33.6% in 2010.
