NSN bags monster network sharing contract

The mobile network joint venture between UK operators T-Mobile and 3UK said Wednesday it has tapped Nokia Siemens Networks as its infrastructure supplier.

When it was announced in December last year, the 50:50 joint venture company called Mobile Broadband Network, signalled the world’s largest known active 3G network sharing agreement to date.

Under the agreement, masts and the 3G access networks are being combined, but each company’s core network and T-Mobile’s 2G network will not be shared. Both parties retain responsibility for the delivery of services to their respective customers and use their own spectrum.

NSN has been selected to deliver the 3G radio network infrastructure for the consolidation of the two operators’ 3G radio access network, which will provide near complete population coverage by the end of 2009.

The kit vendor said the first integrated cell site was commissioned in early February and since then the company has concluded a pilot in the Leeds and Bradford area which “successfully validated that the network consolidation technology will deliver the desired benefits focused on achieving nationwide 3G coverage”.

NSN said it would be using its energy efficient Flexi base stations in the project, which will allow a reduction the number of sites in the network by about 30 per cent, as well as achieving power savings at site of up to 70 per cent compared with traditional 3G equipment.

As a result, plans to decommission over 5,000 duplicate sites from both carriers’ combined existing cell site portfolio will result in significant savings in rent, transmission and other cell site operating costs. Together with the lower future capital expenditure requirement, the combined savings are estimated at £2bn over ten years.