Nokia Siemens Networks’ solution enables Elisa to cost-efficiently extend its 3G coverage
The Finnish communications service company Elisa has launched today the world’s first commercial WCDMA 900 MHz network. Elisa’s new network is based on the WCDMA Frequency Refarming Solution from Nokia Siemens Networks.
Elisa is the first in the world to launch a commercial WCDMA 900 MHz network, improving the efficiency of its 3G network and bringing broadband mobile data services to its customers in wide and sparsely populated rural areas. With 900 MHz spectrum, the increase in WCDMA network coverage will be achieved in a cost and energy-efficient way using a reduced number of sites.
Nokia Siemens Networks’ solution enables Elisa to expand 3G services to new areas effectively while maximally utilizing existing GSM spectrum and network assets. It also improves indoor coverage for 3G, enabling better data rates for high quality 3G services and thus enhancing the end-user experience.
Today, a video call was demonstrated in new live network with Nokia’s new mobile device for WCDMA 900 MHz, the Nokia 6121 classic.
“Improved customer experience is our objective when we are now widening the coverage of our 3G services. Elisa has been the leader in driving the mobile broadband market in Finland. This launch further underlines our commitment to continuous development of our service offering. Thanks to the Nokia Siemens Networks frequency refarming solution, we are now running WCDMA and GSM efficiently in our 900 MHz frequency allocation, enabling us to extend our 3G services cost-effectively from cities to the less populated areas of Finland”, said Veli-Matti Mattila, President and CEO, Elisa Corporation
“Nokia Siemens Networks is delighted to cooperate with Elisa in launching the world’s first commercial WCDMA 900 MHz network. The deployment of WCDMA into 900 MHz, sharing the same bandwidth with GSM, is a highly efficient option for providing 3G coverage. We are dedicated to support operators with our end-to-end solution for smooth WCDMA frequency refarming that also enables the GSM capacity and service quality to remain unchanged, which is naturally an important enabler of successful 3G and GSM co-existence”, said Ari Lehtoranta, Head of Radio Access, Nokia Siemens Networks.
About Elisa
Elisa Corporation is a leading Finnish communications service company. Elisa offers its private, corporate and institutional customers voice and telecommunication services, customised communications services solutions and network operator services. Elisa is the broadband market leader in Finland. It has over 1.3 million fixed line subscriptions, of which broadband subscriptions comprise over 518,000. Elisa is a forerunner in providing new mobile and content services, and it has over 2.3 million mobile phone subscribers. Elisa is listed on the Helsinki Exchanges, its revenue for 2006 amounted to EUR 1.52 billion and it has 3,200 employees. Elisa offers services through the Elisa, Saunalahti and Kolumbus trademarks, and internationally in association with its partners Vodafone and Telenor. www.elisa.com
About Nokia Siemens Networks
Nokia Siemens Networks is a leading global enabler of communications services. The company provides a complete, well-balanced product portfolio of mobile and fixed network infrastructure solutions and addresses the growing demand for services with 20,000 service professionals worldwide. Nokia Siemens Networks is one of the largest telecommunications infrastructure companies with operations in 150 countries. The company is headquartered in Espoo, Finland. www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com