Telenor Bulgaria completes network overhaul, says ready for 4G licence
Bulgaria’s second largest carrier Telenor said on June 29 that it has completed the overhaul of its network and was ready to offer 4G services as soon as licences are made available by the country’s telecom regulator.
“Telenor now has the network that would allow it to continue developing advanced telecommunication solutions, including LTE-based products and services,” Telenor Bulgaria chief executive Stein-Erik Vellan told reporters. “We expect the Bulgarian regulator to complete the process for awarding additional spectrum in the 1800 MHz band so we can proceed with rolling out our 4G services.”
The company was hopeful that a 4G licence tender would be called before the end of the year, he said.
The carrier’s new 3G network offered data speed of up to 42 Mbps to all users in towns and cities with population of more than 5000 and up to 21 Mbps in most of the remaining areas, Telenor said. The improved data speed has already led to an overall data usage increase of 150 per cent between March 2014 and May 2015, Telenor Bulgaria’s technology planning division chief Spas Velinov said.
Telenor did not say how much it cost to replace its network infrastructure, a project that began in April 2014, but said that capital expenditure in 2014 was 160 million leva.
(Photo: Telenor Bulgaria)
