Ericsson selected as vendor for the cities of Madrid and Barcelona
Telefonica, the largest Spanish operator, has announced its plans to roll out a nationwide LTE network in Spain. It has selected Ericsson as a technology partner for this network.
Within the agreement, Ericsson will build the network in Madrid and Barcelona, rolling out about 1,000 nodes in 2013, in order to support Telefonica's goal to take 4G to as many customers as possible already this year.
Luis Miguel Gil Pérez, president of Telefonica in Spain, highlighted that LTE is one of the two pillars of their ultra broadband network concept, together with fibre, and that it is key to make the most out of it.
Telefonica expects to roll out around 2,200 nodes in 2013 and will reach 3000 by the first quarter of 2014. It is aiming to cover about 60 major cities across Spain in total.
The new network will be rolled out in the 1800MHz band and includes the use of Ericsson's multi-standard technology RBS6000.
To date, Ericsson has more than 160 LTE/EPC deals around the world.
