3G to start making way for 5G in Denmark

Denmark’s mobile market continues to show steady growth despite the country having one of the highest mobile penetration rates in Europe. Growth has been stimulated by consumer demand for data services based on the near universal availability of LTE services.

It's been reported widely that 3Danmark has now passed  TeliaDanmark in mobile subscriptions in Denmark - to become the new No 3. But 3's growth is in the Oister sub-brand and Telia is actually No 2 in total revenue; 50% higher than '3'.

Denmark: A mobile zero-sum game where @3Danmark takes market share and where @TDCGroupDK benefited from the SKI deal (+a few acquisitions). Q4 '19 was the first Q since Q2 '18 that @TeliaDanmark grew. @TelenorDanmark lost base in 8 Qs in a row - which has been good for its margin pic.twitter.com/9oEgif7QrI

— tefficient 🚥 (@tefficient) February 24, 2020

.@3Danmark is now visibly larger than @TeliaDanmark in number of subscriptions (but when it comes to revenue, 3 is still No 4) https://t.co/zfu8qNNNHN Telenor reports 23 Oct, TDC 14 Nov pic.twitter.com/LiivYlmMsI

— tefficient 🚥 (@tefficient) October 18, 2019

TT-Netvaerket is an independent company, with Telia and Telenor each owning 50 per cent.  The TT network has over 4,000 mobile sites around Denmark, which makes the network Denmark's largest and finest masked mobile network.

TT is planning to gradually phase out 3G services from April 2021, in order to increase the capacity of its 4G networks and assist the introduction of 5G technology. TT-Netvaerket currently operates more than 4,300 antennas, providing 4G population coverage of 99.8%. Henrik Kofod, Telia’s technology director, stated:

‘The phasing out of the 3G network is a natural technology development that will give our customers even better capacity and speed in the 4G network. Whether you use mobile or tablet for voice or data, 4G provides a much better experience. And when we introduce 5G within the next few years, it will provide another significant boost to the digital infrastructure in Denmark.’

Denmark currently does not have 5G however Telia Norway is the first operator in the country to open up its 5G network in Lillestrøm and parts of Groruddalen in Oslo for customers. During 2020, 5G coverage will be expanded in Oslo, while the network will be opened in Trondheim and Bergen. Telia will be the first in Norway with a national 5G network by the end of 2023, and already next year the ambition is that up to half the population will have 5G coverage.

 At Lillestrøm, some 40 base stations have been upgraded with the latest mobile technology provided by Telia's Ericsson partner. Billions will be invested every year in the future, and the further 5G development will take place area by area throughout the country. The ambition is that up to half of Norway's population will have 5G coverage where they live during 2021, and a national 5G network will be in place by the end of 2023. In parallel with the development, Telia will modernize the entire mobile network in Norway, which means that the 4G network, speed and coverage will be even better.

To access Telia's 5G network, you need a mobile subscription from Telia and a mobile phone that supports the new technology. Initially, this is the Samsung Galaxy S20 series and OnePlus 8 series available in Telia's stores or on telia.no. After a software update before the summer, both mobile phone series will be able to use the new 5G network. At the same time, 5G will be included in most of Telia's subscriptions at no extra cost.

Both Telenor and Telia have also partnered with Nokia to build a new shared network in Denmark.

They  claim to have the world’s most advanced shared wireless network, thanks to the use of a feature called Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN). This enables distinct mobile operators with their own core network to share a common radio access network infrastructure as well as spectrum resources.

This is the first network to include live MOCN capabilities for 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G simultaneously. The live trial utilized Nokia’s end-to-end 5G technology, including 5G RAN and 5G cloud core.

Network sharing is an efficient and cost-effective way for two or more mobile operators to build and roll out a network at scale without having to duplicate efforts. It is an important strategic consideration for operators that helps them to quickly deploy 5G networks to consumers and businesses while keeping costs to a minimum. As 5G networks require a higher density of radio equipment, such as small cells, to deliver the right performance and coverage, network sharing results in overall lower power consumption compared to individual networks.