TeliaSonera (News - Alert), which offers high-quality telecommunication services, has emerged as one of the winners in the recently conducted auction for building 4G, the next generation mobile network in Sweden.

 

The Swedish Post and Telecommunications Authority, the PTS, revealed that five bidders have won licenses for the total amount of SEK 2,099,450,000 (US$348 million) and TeliaSonera is among them to bid and win for 2x20 MHz in the 2.6 GHz band. The other winners include; HI3G Access who had bid for 2x10 MHz FDD, Intel Capital (News - Alert) Corp. who bid and won for 50 MHz TDD, Tele2 Sverige for 2x20 MHz FDD and Telenor Sverige for 2x20 MHz FDD.

 

The spectrum auction in the 2.6 GHz band was concluded, after 16 days of bidding and 112 bidding rounds. TeliaSonera has won this license which is valid for fifteen years and for the cost of Swedish crowns 563 million ($94 million).

 

As per the statement, TeliaSonera will make the payment to the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency in the second quarter of 2008.

 

TeliaSonera provides telecommunication services in the Nordic and Baltic countries, in Spain and the emerging markets of Eurasia, including Russia and Turkey.

 

With the frequencies that TeliaSonera in Sweden now has been awarded, the company will be able to build a next-generation super-fast mobile broadband network, offering access speeds of more than 100 Mbps.

 

“We are naturally very pleased to receive this nationwide 4G license,” says Håkan Dahlström, President of Mobility Services, TeliaSonera Sweden.

 

Dahlstrom added that the 4G license is important for their customers, who will have access to even faster mobile broadband in the future.

 

This license secures TeliaSonera’s position as one of the committed service provider and further enables the company to build a mobile network that is more than 10 times faster than today’s networks. The license received is not subject to any conditions regarding the timetable of the network build-out or population coverage in Sweden.