The site is deployed on Svalbard, an archipelago located at 78°13'N in the Arctic Circle in a climate so extreme that the temperature plummets to 50 degrees below zero in the winter.
Telenor built the first telegraph tower on the islands 100 years ago, and now, 100 years later, Telenor has launched Svalbard’s first LTE site. For everything ranging from radio waves to wireless broadband, Huawei will assist Telenor to complete the service platform evolution in order to retain the industry lead.
The unique LTE site, which uses Huawei’s SingleRAN LTE solution, is deployed in Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s largest settlement and the world’s most northerly town. During the launch ceremony, attendees were able to test the LTE service and were rewarded with stable and smooth HD video streaming at a downlink speed of more than 100Mbps.
Harald Norvik, chairman of the board of Telenor Group, said: “Svalbard has changed radically in recent years, and we have continually improved the communications options for the local populace. The launch of this advanced LTE network marks the next step in our evolution.”