Having acquired licences in the 2.6-GHz band, Telenor plans to roll out LTE in Sweden in 2010, the company revealed at Broadband World Forum Europe in Paris on Tuesday.
“We have secured licences in Norway and Sweden,” said Knut Erik Walter, head of network technology strategies at the Norwegian incumbent.
“We plan to launch next year in Sweden,” he said.
“[Sweden has experienced] extreme traffic growth, so we have to invest,” Walter explained.
Deploying LTE will enable the operator to offload some traffic and will help its cost structure, he added.
“We don’t care that much that the first versions of LTE don’t have a good voice solution,” Walter said, noting that he expects the first users of LTE will mainly use the technology to connect via mobile dongles on laptops and other large-screen devices.
Walter also told the audience at BBWF Europe that he sees no benefit in rolling out WiMAX.
“Mobile WiMAX has no real advantages compared to LTE,” he said.
There appears to be an advantage at present in some countries due to the availability of spectrum for WiMAX, but that is likely to be short-lived, particularly with the growing trend for technology-neutral licensing.
“There will be no WiMAX spectrum that is not accessible to LTE,” he said. WiMAX could be an alternative solution, but “LTE is for sure going to lead,” he added.
“HSPA is sufficient until we get to LTE,” Walter insisted. “This is our best way forward.”
This article originally appeared on Total Telecom