One in and One out in Finnish 3G market

November 25, 2004 - source: BWCS

Mixed news from Finland, where newcomer Elisa has thrown open its next generation mobile phone network to commercial use, but the authorities are threatening to remove Tele2's 3G licence as it has not met roll-out requirements. Elisa has joined TeliaSonera as Finland's first 3G service operators, while Tele2's Suomen 3G and Finnet have yet to go live.

A terse statement from the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications reported yesterday by Reuters, said that Suomen 3G has until 7th January next year to meet its obligations. Under the terms of the licence awards, which were revised last spring, operators must cover 35% of the Finnish population by the end of this year.

Elisa has begun slowly in the 3G field offering services via the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS data card, which is widely used in other parts of Europe. Its Nokia-supplied network covers Espoo, Helsinki, Joensuu, Kuopio, Oulu, Salo, Tampere, Turku, Vaasa and Vantaa and is due to cover a total of 30 Finnish towns and cities by the end of next year.