ice Norway ready for 5G with Nokia

“With ice, Norway is at the forefront of the development of 5G network and services. ice is building a brand new 5G-ready mobile network with Nokia, one of the world’s leading suppliers of mobile technology. We continue to invest in and expand our national 4G network, even as we prepare for the next generation of mobile networks. We will always ensure Norway gets top quality services, and we look forward to exploring the new services we can introduce with 5G technology,” says Eivind Helgaker, CEO of ice Group.

Until 5G can be deployed in Norway, ice continues to build its 4G network to ensure subscribers have access to the highest-quality services. The network already covers 89 percent of the population, with the following areas 5G-ready as well:

• Oslo region (Oslo and Akershus county)
• Drammen area
• Bergen area
• Fredrikstad area
• Sarpsborg area
• Stavanger area
• Trondheim area
• Skien area
• Porsgrunn area
• Kristiansand area

“This is extremely exciting, and we are working hard to expand our network,” added Helgaker “ With our new mobile network and products, and the rollout of 5G-ready base stations, we ensure ice keeps its position as the main challenger in the Norwegian market today and in the future.”

ice has deployed Nokia’s AirScale Radio Access technology in many urban areas across Norway to make the network ready for 5G. The deployment is part of a multi-year agreement between ice and Nokia which includes network planning, site acquisition, civil works, deployment and care. Until spectrum is available and 5G can be deployed in Norway, ice subscribers will benefit from optimized 4G performance, coverage and capacity due to the technology upgrade. Under the same agreement, Nokia will also further expand ice’s current 4G network towards nationwide coverage.

ice has also started to modernize its core network, moving to Nokia’s 5G-ready Airframe cloud-native core technology. Virtualizing the core network infrastructure will enable ice to develop new services faster than currently possible. The cloud-native core network will also prepare ice to support future 5G-based service deployments.

“5G is not just approaching fast – it is here already. With the deployment of Nokia 5G-ready RAN and Cloud Core technology, ice is making a big step towards 5G and, together, we are ready to unleash its power. As a long-standing partner and network supplier of ice we have a deep understanding of the network and a long track record of successful projects. We look forward to continuing to support Ice on their journey,” says Pekka Sundstrom, CBT Head at Nokia.

About ice Norway

ice launched a smartphone offer in mid-2015 and is now Norway’s third largest network operator and provider of voice and wireless data services, and a necessary challenger in the unfortunate duopol situation. In Tutela's State of Mobile Networks 2019 report, ice achieved the highest network consistent quality in the Nordics.

ice is now working with Nokia to further expand the brand new 4G network with additional 2000 base stations, but already covers 89 percent of the population. About half of the base stations already deployed are 5G-ready, approx. 1000.

About Nokia

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