Displaying items by tag: Telenor

Nokia, along with leading operators Telenor and Telia, announced that it has deployed the world’s most advanced shared wireless network supporting a Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) feature, enabled for wireless technologies spanning 2G to 5G.

The 5G MOCN feature was deployed on a trial network in Denmark and verified with successful end-to-end test calls. MOCN, the most advanced network architecture model allowing for network sharing, enables distinct mobile operators with their own core network to share a common radio access network infrastructure as well as spectrum resources.

This is the first network to include live MOCN capabilities for 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G simultaneously. The live trial utilized Nokia’s end-to-end 5G technology, including 5G RAN and 5G cloud core.

Network sharing is an efficient and cost-effective way for two or more mobile operators to build and roll out a network at scale without having to duplicate efforts. It is an important strategic consideration for operators that helps them to quickly deploy 5G networks to consumers and businesses while keeping costs to a minimum. As 5G networks require a higher density of radio equipment, such as small cells, to deliver the right performance and coverage, network sharing results in overall lower power consumption compared to individual networks.

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: “Deploying 5G networks independently can be an expensive undertaking for mobile operators in the most competitive markets. This trial highlights that through network sharing, operators can drive efficiencies, lower costs and bring the myriad benefits of 5G to businesses and consumers quickly. We hope that this trial demonstrates to operators around the world that there are multiple options open to them to get their 5G networks up and running quickly and at the lowest possible cost.”

Georg Svendsen CTO at Telenor, said: “Network sharing is a clear strategic priority for Telenor to continuously deliver one of the best mobile networks in the world, supporting safe and reliable connectivity to our private and business users.”

Henrik Kofod CTO at Telia Denmark, said: “This is a major step on our 5G journey, and I really look forward to start testing with real customers and understanding how 5G can provide true value for them. I hope this will inspire other operators in the Danish market to move in the same direction. Network sharing is a great choice when it comes to building sustainable 5G networks. When we maximize our resource utilization, we lower our carbon footprint and optimize our investments.”

The hype surrounding the highly anticipated merger plan between Malaysia’s Axiata Group Bhd and Norway’s Telenor Group seems to have lost traction since the plan was first announced in May, due in fact to the Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo’s statement that the potential partnership is still very much at the proposal stage.

Telenor Denmark has launched Europe’s first outbound VoLTE roaming service.

Due to the shutdown of its 2G and 3G networks, the telco industry’s VoLTE roaming implementation pace had been running very slowly and sought an alternative voice roaming solution. In October 2018, Telenor Denmark welcomed its outbound VoLTE roaming.

In the same month, Telenor Norway opened for inbound VoLTE traffic from Telenor Denmark.

Telenor’s Global Wholesale unit has played a significant role in making VoLTE roaming become reality in Telenor by coordinating efforts across all company units. Telenor Norway and Denmark were chosen as pilot project in order to learn and build the necessary competence that will be used to address other Telenor units and their specific network and billing challenges. This means that upcoming Telenor affiliates can implement VoLTE roaming faster and more efficient, which also includes cost synergies.

Harald Krogh, CEO of Telenor Group’s Global Wholesale unit says “I am proud that Telenor now has taken the first steps towards establishing a new voice roaming solution. However, VoLTE roaming is not a single operator’s task. It can only be valuable if the whole industry embraces the challenge and makes the substantial efforts which are necessary to move voice roaming from 2G/3G to VoLTE. As an industry it is time to work together, enable the shutdown of the legacy networks and thereby simplify and optimize the way we work.”

For the time being Telenor has enabled VoLTE roaming only on selected handsets from Sony and Samsung. In order to speed up VoLTE roaming rollout and start looking for effective ways to enable VoLTE roaming for all customers, it is urged to onboard other handset vendors as well.

“If Telenor are to succeed with this, we need both our roaming partners and handset vendors to give more attention to VoLTE roaming and contribute with their pieces of this important roaming puzzle. This is where our focus will be in the months to come. We have a solution ready for inbound as well as outbound and are now working with onboarding one affiliate at a time”, Krogh adds.

Norway-based Telenor Group and Wireless Trondheim are joining forces to open a new IoT powerhouse to boost innovation, build competencies and promote Norwegian competitiveness. The IoT ProtoLab will be open to start-ups, developers and students looking to rapidly prototype and develop IoT products and services. 

Opening in early 2018, the IoT ProtoLab will be a centre for IoT research and innovation, specifically focusing on next generation Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technologies and applications. It will also enable the exchange of data, sharing of experiences and collaboration with ongoing projects at the Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab.

The lab was established as part of Telenor's initiative to prepare Norway for a digitised future, contribute to national competitiveness, increased innovation and new competencies.

“The people and companies shaping tomorrow's society are the ones that are able to utilize and apply data in new ways,” said Sigve Brekke, President and CEO of Telenor Group. “Telenor is committed to help build these capabilities in Norway. The IoT ProtoLab will be a place for students, entrepreneurs and startups to experiment and prototype solutions using next-generation IoT technologies.”

 The IoT ProtoLab will be located at FAKTRY, the new community for ambitious start-ups in hardware-centric disciplines at Sluppen in Trondheim, which opens in November 2017.

To support the piloting and testing of IoT services in Trondheim, Wireless Trondheim has enabled a city-wide IoT test-bed and connected to Telenor's non-commercial offering, Start IoT.  This provides access to IoT devices, a physical LPWA pilot network and a backend system, which enables prototyping and developing of IoT services at a relatively low cost. Wireless Trondheim will be responsible for the setup and the daily operation of the IoT ProtoLab.

“Our mission at Wireless Trondheim is to enable students, entrepreneurs and start-ups to experiment and prototype solutions using next-generation IoT technologies,” said Thomas Ulleberg, Manager of Wireless Trondheim. “By coupling our specialist competence with companies like Telenor, we can create real impact and help make new smart products and services for the future.”

In addition to its Start IoT offering, Telenor will also provide mentorship, support internships in the lab and will collaborate with key partners for student projects and hackathons. The first official IoT ProtoLab hackathon will be organised at FAKTRY in November by Telenor, Wireless Trondheim and Pycom.

The two day event aims to gather creative minds of the city's developer community, start-ups and students to identify and solve real-life critical business problems using next generation IoT technology, supported by experts, network access and devkits.

Increased data usage fueled growth in Thailand’s mobile industry in the first half of 2017, according to the National Economic and Social Development Board. Pricing competition in the sector dropped, and overall Thailand’s economy increased by the fastest rate in four years.

Thailand’s GDP rose 3.7 percent year-on-year in Q2 2017 after annual growth of 3.3 percent reported in Q1.

The country’s three leading mobile operators – AIS, True Move and Telenor-owned dtac – saw service revenue increase 8 percent year-on-year in the first half of the year, according to a report by Bangkok Post. In addition, non-voice revenue generated around 68 percent of the operators’ service revenue in Q2.

“It seems the telecoms business is on the up-and-up after reaching bottom last year,” CIMB analyst told Bangkok Post, reflecting on how Thai telecom operators have pulled back their aggressive marketing campaigns.

AIS’ second quarter revenue increased 21 percent year-on-year to THB 18.7 billion ($562 million), the Bangkok Post report said, representing 63 percent of its total revenue. True’s data revenue increased 25 percent to THB 10.4 billion, while dtac’s data revenue grew the most at 27 percent to THB 11 billion, representing 66 percent and 74 percent of total revenue, respectively.

The operators all posted increases in service revenue in Q1 this year, Bangkok Post said. In the lead was True with 17 percent growth, ahead of AIS with 6.6 percent and dtac with 2.3 percent. In terms of voice revenue, dtac and AIS both experienced year-on-year declines, while True posted a 2.6 percent increase.

Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited, commonly referred to as AIS, is Thailand's largest GSM mobile phone operator with 39.87 million customers as of Q3 2016. For a long time True ranked third behind dtac, but in the opening quarter of 2017, True boosted its market share to 26.5 percent, placing it just ahead of dtac’s 26.2 percent share. True maintained its lead over dtac in Q2, according to GSMA Intelligence.

Norweigan telecom firm Telenor and Sweden’s Telia have signed a managed services contract with Nokia that will see the company manage their joint mobile radio network in Denmark. The agreement will allow Telia and Telenor to offer customers of Denmark's largest mobile network even better coverage and greater capacity for a world-class mobile experience, Nokia said in a release.

“The combination of Telia and Telenor's network has been a historic business,” said Henrik Kofod, CTO, Telia Denmark. “Today we have a world-class mobile network, and this step to have Nokia manage it for us will ensure we also have the best network in five or ten years. Therefore, I am pleased that we have concluded a solid agreement with one of the world's most powerful network providers.”

Nokia will take over all operational and development tasks of Telia and Telenor's radio access network in October 2017, and provide network planning and optimization, network implementation, and network operations for the network that consists of more than 4,000 mobile sites around the country, Nokia said. This will expand network capacity, ensure a quality boost in the customer experience and pave the way for the introduction of new technologies.

“Telia and Telenor are focused on exceeding the requirements of their customers,” said Igor Leprince, president of Global Services, Nokia. “In selecting their new managed services provider, the operators highlighted the need for experience, quality, capacity and, not least, security. Nokia will provide the two operators services that will allow them to deliver the best experience to their customers.”

Norway’s state-owned international telecom firm Telenor Group delivered a strong set of results for the second quarter of 2017 with improved revenue growth, double-digit EBITDA uplift and strong cash flow generation. Both the EBITDA and the EBITDA margin are all-time high this quarter for the company.

“We were able to reduce our costs by NOK 0.6 billion (US$73.3 million) and we saw margin expansion in all our business units,” said Sigve Brekke, President and CEO, Telenor Group. “The robustness of our Norwegian operation, the strong revenue growth in Bangladesh and the return to growth in Thailand were amongst the highlights for the quarter.”

Brekke added, “At the Capital Markets Day in February, we shared our strategic ambitions towards 2020, highlighting continued growth, improved efficiency and simplification as key drivers for value creation. I am pleased to see that we have taken several steps during the first six months of the year to execute on this strategy.”

As a result of the achievements in the first half of the year, Telenor Group is “stepping up” its efficiency ambitions and is raising the EBITDA margin guidance for 2017. With rapid changes in customer behavior and technology advances, continued cost reductions will be necessary in the coming years, the CEO said.

In line with its simplification agenda, Telenor Group sold its online classifieds positions in Latin America and continued the sell down of VEON (formerly VimpelCom) in the quarter. Following proceeds from recent transactions combined with a solid balance sheet, the Telenor Group Board has decided to distribute parts of the funds to shareholders through a 2% share buyback program.

NEC Corporation, which specializes in the integration of IT and network technologies, announced on May 10 that it has signed a global frame agreement with Telenor, the Norway-based worldwide telecommunications operator, to provide microwave communications systems.

Telenor’s agreement with NEC will apply to the Telenor Group's 13 telecommunications affiliates in Northern Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia. Through this agreement, NEC will provide total support from the introduction of NEC's ultra-compact microwave communications systems, iPASOLINK VR and iPASOLINK EX Advanced, to maintenance services over the next five years.

NEC is first scheduled to provide iPASOLINK to Telenor Pakistan, then to expand the supply of its products to telecommunications affiliates in other areas.

NEC and Telenor have been working together since the 1980s, and the companies have signed several global frame agreements on microwave communications systems since 2006. NEC has the largest share in cumulative shipments for microwave communications systems for Telenor. Moreover, in 2015, NEC and Telenor signed a global frame agreement on IP routers and optical communications systems. Collectively, NEC can provide the necessary systems for Telenor to build an effective transport network.

"We are honored to sign this agreement with Telenor," said, Atsuo Kawamura, Executive Vice President, NEC Corporation. "With NEC's iPASOLINK, Telenor can enhance network connectivity, enabling their customers to experience better, high-quality services. NEC will continue to provide advanced solutions to Telenor, including microwave equipment, IP routers and optical communications systems, so that we can contribute to the diversification and sophistication of their communication services."

Ooredoo Myanmar has announced “recording-breaking growth” with the addition of 1.3 million customers in the second quarter of 2016, taking the total number of users on its network to 8.2 million, 2.4 million of which were added in the first six months of 2016. The company also told the Myanmar Times that the number of 4G users had passed the half million mark.

The CEO of Ooredoo Myanmar, Mr. Rene Meza, said investments had passed the $US2.0 billion in the first half of 2016 and the company was on track to have more than 4500 base stations by the end of 2016, connected by some 13,000kms of optic fiber cables.

Meza confirmed that Ooredoo would continue to procure additional spectrum as the Government releases it, in order to continue to roll out the 4G network.

According to the Myanmar Times the Ministry of Transport and Communications is planning to auction 40MHz on the 2600MHz band starting October 17. Details of the auction were announced on July 25 and expressions of interest closed on August 9.

Meza would not confirm that the company would be bidding, and the Myanmar Times noted that “Both Ooredoo [Myanmar] and [rival operator] Telenor are eager to see lower-spectrum bands like the 1800MHz made available, as these are better able to penetrate walls and more suitable to expand coverage. Bands like the 2600MHz require a greater density of tower sites, which is challenge in urban areas.”

Pakistan has awarded a $395 million 4G licence to Norwegian telecom giant Telenor, as it seeks to capitalize on a booming domestic mobile market some two years since broadband internet arrived in the country.

In 2014, Pakistan auctioned its first 4G broadband license to China's Zong for $210 million, along with 3G licenses to Zong, the UAE's Warid, and Pakistan's domestic Mobilink. The total raised in the auction was $1.2 billion.

In the first quarter of 2015 smartphone shipments to the country soared by 123 percent, according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority's annual report, one of the fastest growth rates in the developing world.

Since then, broadband use has exploded, with the number of users growing to around 29 million from a mere 1.9 million -- a higher percentage than India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Pakistan's state-run Telecom Authority (PTA) had auctioned the license to local and international telecom companies, with Telenor winning the bid.

"The license for 850 MHz band will be awarded on base price of $395 Million in accordance with the schedule," an internal statement from PTA said. "The licencse will be awarded to Telenor within 30 days of payment," it added.

Telenor Pakistan is 100 percent owned by Norway's Telenor Group, one of the largest mobile operators in the world.