Finland has traditionally been a leader when it comes to mobile telecommunications. They were one of the first to go digital, and don’t even get me started about what Nokia did to the world in the 90s and 00s. So what about next generation LTE networks? Norway’s capital, Oslo, has LTE courtesy of TeliaSonera, and the same can be said about Stockholm. Denmark just wrapped up their 2.6 GHz auction, and TDC (formerly the state run telecom monopoly) has said they’re going to launch LTE in the next few months, so what about Finland, Finland, Finland, country where I want to be!
Within a week of each other the nation’s two largest operators announced their LTE plans. Elisa has said that in conjunction with Nokia Siemens Networks they’re going to build out a test network in Helsinki, then make it commercial, and eventually roll it out to other parts of the nation. Their goal is to be able to offer customers 100 Mbps, which is never, ever going to happen. It’ll be “only” half that, but no complaints here. Sonera, as we call it here, but it’s actually known as TeliaSonera, is dabbling with LTE in the city of Turku. They have the same goal, of offering consumers around 100 Mbps. No comment was given as to who will be providing the network gear.
To hell with LTE I say, give me HSPA+! Finland’s 3rd largest, and thus the smallest operator, is DNA and they offer 21 Mbps download speed since they’re using HSPA+ gear. Now yes, no mobile phone does that, but they’re selling USB modems like hot cakes and their advertisements are all over the place. I literally can’t go anywhere in Helsinki without seeing a DNA logo, which is a bit annoying since it’s hot pink.
[Via: Elisa and Mobile Business Briefing]