Telenor Group and Nokia bring VDSL powered broadband to the land of arctic adventure

May 26, 2005

Espoo, Finland - Nokia and Norwegian operator Telenor have extended their frame agreement for the supply of Nokia VDSL broadband equipment, which will bring IP-based TV and other services to Svalbard, one of the world’s northernmost settlements.

Under the deal, Nokia will supply its latest generation D500 IP DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer), which delivers integrated IP and multicasting functionality unlike any other IP DSLAM solution in the broadband industry. As part of a complete package, Nokia will also supply a range of support services.

The agreement with Nokia will enable new services such as multichannel IP TV, predominantly for the town of Longyearbyen, Norway’s main administrative center on Svalbard. At 78 degrees north, the Svalbard archipelago, also known as Spitzbergen, forms one of the world’s most northern settlements. Sixty percent of the area is covered by glacier, and the inhabitants experience the extremes of long polar nights and summer-long midnight sun.

“Svalbard has earned a reputation as a place for arctic adventure and we are pleased that Telenor now will be able to offer Longyearbyen’s inhabitants telecom services ahead of the Norwegian mainland,” says Mr. Vegard Gjerde, Managing Director of Telenor Svalbard AS. “We chose Nokia to work with us on IP TV, something new for DSL services as we see great opportunities ahead for it and other broadband applications.”

“Nokia is very pleased to bring next generation broadband services to an unprecedented level on Svalbard as the new high speed connections will not only accelerate normal Internet use but will also provide IP-TV services as part of a triple play offering,” says Markku Hynninen, Vice President, Broadband Systems, Networks, Nokia. “Svalbard has the potential to be on the forefront for early adoption of new technology. Nokia will work together with Telenor to achieve this also in other areas of converged broadband communication.”

The Nokia D500 platform is ideal for building an IP-centric network, which affords long-term cost savings and offers a future-proof investment for the launch of new broadband services. It supports ADSL and faster standards of ADSL, such as VDSL and ADSL 2 Plus, as well as features such as IP Multicasting.

Telenor is Norway’s leading telecommunication company. The Telenor Group have substantial international mobile operations, with activities in 11 countries outside Norway in Europe and Asia. The activities are managed through partly or fully owned companies. Telenor is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and NASDAQ in New York.

Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia is dedicated to enhancing people’s lives and productivity by providing easy-to-use and secure products like mobile phones, and solutions for imaging, games, media, mobile network operators and businesses. Nokia is a broadly held company with listings on five major exchanges.

Contact Information

Networks , Communications

Networks , Communications

Nokia

Contact via E-mail