LONDON — Tele2 Sweden and Telenor Sweden - the country's second- and third-largest operators, respectively - are to build a nationwide LTE network through a new joint venture, dubbed Net4 Mobility. The move is the first network sharing arrangement for the emerging high data-rate Long Term Evolution broadband technology.

The operators will share spectrum in the 900 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands.

The joint venture has not yet named its proposed network suppliers but revealed an ambitious build-out schedule starting this year, with service launch expected by the end of 2010 provided suitable terminals and USB modems have been developed in time.

Infrastructure equipment manufacturers in the frame are expected to include Nokia Siemens Networks, Ericsson AB, Huawei Technologies and ZTE.

It is then expected to compete against Sweden's national operator, TeliaSonera, which said earlier this year it will launch commercial LTE services in Stockholm, and in Oslo, Norway, next year.

The Swedish operators are able to lead the shift to commercial LTE in Europe because the country was quick to auction the 2.6 GHz frequency and license operators. Intel was one of the main winners in the spectrum auction, with 50MHz in the 2.6 GHz band, which is suitable for WiMAX.

Tele2 and Telenor said they expect that by 2013, 99 percent of the Swedish population will have access to mobile Internet at speeds of up to 80 Mbit/s in rural areas and up to 150 Mbit/s in urban areas.

But the deal between the operators in Sweden goes beyond LTE and includes plans to revamp and share GSM networks as well.

The operators plan to build better GSM coverage as they deploy the new LTE cell sites and eventually shut down their existing, separate GSM networks, in order to use their spectrum more efficiently, improve voice network coverage, and save on operating costs. Through the new shared GSM network, the operators plan to extend their GSM reach by 30 to 50 percent.

In addition, the operators will pool together and share their 900 MHz and 2.6 GHz spectrum in the new joint venture. The 900 MHz spectrum is used for GSM services, but Tele2 and Telenor Sweden plan to use this frequency for LTE as well. Each operator also has 2x20 MHz of 2.6 GHz spectrum, which was won in the May 2008 auction and which will be used for LTE services only.

"Sharing this investment ensures cost efficiency and enables a solid market position in the long run for Telenor in Sweden," Lars-Ake Norling, chief executive of Telenor Sweden, said in a statement.

"We are proud that Sweden is one of the first countries in the world with a 4G network for the entire population. For our customers this means improved coverage for voice calls across the country and a network for mobile internet with speeds that will be 10-15 times faster than today," added Niclas Palmstierna, CEO of Tele2 Sweden.

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