Nokia Networks completes shared single RAN deployment for TeliaSonera and Telenor in Denmark

Nokia Networks said it completed a groundbreaking network sharing project for TT-Network (TTN), a joint venture between TeliaSonera and Telenor in Denmark.

The infrastructure company said the single RAN project saw it provide a network spanning GSM, 3G and LTE technologies to the two operators, marking the first time such infrastructure has been supplied to carriers that are sharing their network and frequencies.

Nokia Networks, which was the sole provider of the infrastructure, said the process began in 2012 with the merging of TeliaSonera and Telenor's Danish LTE networks. That process was followed up by the merging of the pair's 3G networks and now their 2G (GSM) infrastructure.

The process has improved coverage and capacity as well as access to mobile broadband services, Nokia Networks said. The company supplied its Single RAN Advanced platform, utilising its Flexi Multiradio 10 Base station, to enable all three technologies to run concurrently. Network management and optimisation is handled via Nokia Networks' NetAct system, it said.

"Our unique solution and ability to manage complex network sharing projects allowed TTN to create Denmark's best mobile network more rapidly and more efficiently than either partner could have done on its own," Louise Suhr, head of the TTN customer team at Nokia Networks, said.

TTN CEO Johan Wickman said the combined infrastructure is a first in Denmark. "So far, no other operator has accomplished a Multiradio sharing initiative of such a broad scope."

The shared network is another step towards the integration of Telenor and TeliaSonera's Danish businesses into a 50:50 joint venture -- a move the companies first announced in December 2014.

Further progress was announced in July, when the companies announced Hilde Tonne -- a member of Telenor Group's executive management team -- would head up the merged business as CEO, with Telia Denmark's CEO Soren Abildgaard, and CFO Dennis Kilian appointed as deputy CEO and CFO respectively.

However, European Commission (EC) clearance for the merger has yet to be given. The companies in June shrugged off an EC statement of objections to the tie-up, and said they remained confident clearance would be granted.

The EC is due to issue its judgement on the matter by Sep. 2.

For more:
- see Nokia Networks' announcement

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