Finland Times

DNA's CEO on the right) And TeliaSonera Finland CEO spoke at a press conference on Wednesday. Photo – Str / Lehtikuva.

Telecommunication operator Sonera, the Finnish wing of TeliaSonera, and DNA have agreed on a mobile-network sharing in Northern and Eastern Finland, said Telia Sonera in a statement.

 

The joint venture is expected to enter operation in the beginning of 2015.

 

The new venture “Suomen Yhteisverkko Oy” by the two operators will allow for more efficient build-out and operation of radio networks in an area making up 50 per cent of Finland’s total territory in which approximately 15 per cent of its population live.

 

Photo – Lehtikuva.

The project is aimed at improving customer experience in terms of coverage, speed and quality, said TeliaSonera.

 

TeliaSonera has targeted its 4G network to reach 99 per cent of the country’s population by 2018.

 

“The build-out in Eastern and Northern Finland is an important part of our ambition to improve customer experience and the efficiency of all our networks. We have positive experiences from network-sharing in other markets,” said Robert Andersson, head of TeliaSonera’s business region Europe. 

 

Photo Lehtikuva.

Thanks to the cooperation with DNA, Andersson said, “we can deliver on our promise to have the best network in Finland faster. We can accelerate the roll-out of super-fast mobile internet across all of Finland.”

 

The venture will build and operate a common radio access network for 2G, 3G and 4G technologies.

 

The company will own the radio network equipment and rent masts and base station facilities from operators or third parties. 

 

The common network will translate to an increased number of base stations, better coverage and more capacity in the more sparsely populated areas of Eastern and Northern Finland. 

 

The operators will also combine their 800 MHz frequency blocks to offer faster 4G connections and more capacity to their customers in the area. 

 

The two operators, Sonera and DNA, will independently continue to offer competing services to customers also in the common network area.

 

The venture will be jointly controlled and equally governed by the consensus principle with Sonera owning 51 per cent and DNA 49 per cent of the company. 

 

The venture will be headed by Antti Jokinen, former head of Networks at DNA.