Tele2’s mobile network in Sweden
Tele2 has mobile networks in Sweden supporting several types of mobile technologies including 2G, 3G and 4G. Several different abbreviations are being used when referring mobile networks. 2G is also known as GSM, 3G is also known as UMTS, 4G is also known as LTE and 5G is also known as NR (NewRadio).
A mobile network consists of a large number of base stations (also called sites). These base stations, or sites, supports the network with coverage and capacity. A base station consists of an antenna carrier (either placed on a mast or placed on rooftops), and transmitters & receivers for the mobile frequencies.
In order to increase mobile network coverage you can use lower frequency spectrums or add more base stations/ sites to the network.
And in order to increase network capacity you can either build more sites or add more frequencies.
GHz band is currently not available, but will be auctioned by PTS later this year and will mainly be used for 5G.
The lower section of the mobile frequency spectrum portfolio generates longer distances of coverage from the base station or site.
The higher section of the mobile frequency spectrum portfolio is more distance sensitive and adds additional coverage closer to the base station compared to the lower spectrum. The higher frequency spectrum also has more bandwidth than lower spectrum and therefore adds more capacity.
In the current Tele2 mobile networks in Sweden, frequency spectrum in the range from 700Mhz up to 2600MHz are being used. The higher part of the spectrum is mainly being used in high capacity and urban areas throughout of Sweden
The Tele2 mobile network in regards to 2G, 4G and in the future 5G, is a joint venture together with another Swedish operator. This means that planning of the network, deploying in the network and support and maintenance of the network is shared with the other party. In regards to these responsibilities Sweden has been geographically divided where one operator handles some parts and the other operator handles the other parts of the country. This setup is seamless for the customer where each operator handles their own customers. In the picture below Tele2 are responsible for managing the dark green parts and our partner Telenor handles the light green parts. The setup of sharing a network together with Telenor in a Joint Venture was founded in 2010, and was actually the first shared GSM network in the world at the time. Today we have about 5500 sites together with Telenor in Net4Mobility.
Written by,
Lena Åslund, Roll-out project manager
