OSLO (WiMAX Day). By Joachim Bamrud. Norwegian broadband provider NextGenTel, who won an auction for a 2.3 GHz spectrum license on 5th September 2006, plans initially to use the technology for isolated rural areas in Norway where regular broadband is difficult to implement.

“What we are envisioning is strong demand in areas where regular ADSL is not an option, such as isolated rural areas where users are far apart,” said Morten Ågnes, senior vice president for marketing & information at NextGenTel, a subsidiary of Swedish-Finnish telecom giant TeliaSonera.

The company, which claims to be Norway’s second-largest broadband provider, paid 7 million Norwegian kroner (US$1.1 million) for the spectrum. The Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority (NPT) decided to award the spectrum to one company alone. Eight companies participated in the auction, but NPT declined to identify the other bidders. However, the bidders most likely include many of the same operators that participated in the December 2004 auction for 3.5 GHz spectrum. At that auction, eight of 13 companies qualified after committing to payments worth a total of 49.9 million NOK (US$ 7.6 million) for frequencies in six regions in Norway.

Telenor, Norway’s largest telecom operator, acquired the most 3.5GHz spectrum, paying 13.5 million NOK for 36 frequency blocks, while NexGenTel followed right behind, paying 13.1 million NOK for 47 blocks. Other major bidders at that auction included UPC, Nera, Catch, BaneTele, Netpower and Hardanger.

NextGenTel is presently testing 3.5 GHz technology through a pilot project in a coastal area between Bergen and Stavanger, Norway’s second- and third- largest cities. However, Ågnes sees the potential for faster take-up of services using 2.3 GHz spectrum. “The 2.3 GHz spectrum has advanced more commercially, as seen with [WiBro] in Korea, he added.

Although rural areas are the priority to start with, NextGenTel will also eventually use 2.3GHz for urban areas. Ågnes further stated that “we believe broadband is very much a possibility for all users, whether they are inside or outside their homes, wireless telephony with voice and broadband, through handheld PDAs, etc”.

Ågnes declined to say when NexGenTel will launch 2.3 GHz services or what type of equipment the company will be using.

Norway has the world’s eight- largest broadband penetration rate, according to 2005 data from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). That means it has passed its neighbor Sweden, but it now lags behind all its other Scandinavian neighbors like Denmark, Finland and Iceland. The high penetration rate comes despite relatively expensive prices. Norway was the most expensive of the world’s top 15 broadband markets in 2004, according to an ITU survey.