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Positive experiences of pre-commercial use of UMTS

TeliaSonera Finland has speeded up the traditional packet-switched GPRS data transmission in mobile networks with EDGE network technology. Faster data transmission has many benefits when third-generation mobile services are used. EDGE allows the frequency range used by the current mobile networks to be utilized more efficiently for packet-switched data transmission. The data transmission capacity available to an EDGE user is more than twice as high as the current capacity. This increases the smoothness and speed of the wireless use of, for example, email, the Internet and corporate applications.

TeliaSonera Finland also has a network that is based on UMTS technology. This network operates in eighteen major towns of Finland. At present, the UMTS network is in pre-commercial use at about 30 companies, which utilize the network in order to develop their services. The total number of users is over 1,000. At its best, the data transmission rate in the network is 384 kbps, which is almost ten times as high as in the GSM network.

"We launched the pre-commercial use of the UMTS network in December 2003 with companies that need the network for their own service development. In this way, we wish to promote the development of end-user services. We have received valuable and positive feedback on the networks and terminals from the people who have participated in the pre-commercial use," says Timo Ahomki, Development Director at TeliaSonera Finland.

Project Manager Risto Haukioja of Hewlett-Packard Oy has been using a Sonera UMTS subscription for three months. In his opinion, the system that is in the pre-commercial stage is already quite reliable. The greatest need for development is found in coverage inside buildings, which has traditionally been extremely good in Finland.

"In practice, an ordinary corporate user does not notice any difference compared with the office network when using the normal office applications, reading email, browsing the calendar or transmitting files in the UMTS network. An important new feature is the possibility of talking and transmitting data simultaneously," says Haukioja.

TeliaSonera Finland follows actively the experiences gathered from the pre-commercial use, the launch of dual-mode GSM-UMTS terminals, and other factors relevant to the business entity. The network will be opened for large-scale use during this year, when both the financial and the technical prerequisites have been met.