As Development Manager, Tommy Ljunggren has been one of the key persons behind the work to give the best communication services to the Nordic and Baltic countries. TeliaSonera was actually the first operator in the world to launch a commercial 4G network.
Development Manager for Mobile Systems
TeliaSonera was the first in the world
TeliaSonera was actually the first in the world to launch a commercial 4G network. The company purchased the radio spectrum for 4G when it was auctioned off in 2008. Since then, TeliaSonera has been working on the launch and build-out of the network and finding attractive cooperation partners.
"At an early stage, we realized that the 3G network would gradually be insufficient. We also saw that our customers had a growing need for faster connections. As soon as we had secured the rights to the network, we started looking for vendors who could help us be the first with 4G. Huawei, Ericsson and Samsung were quick to jump on the bandwagon."
TeliaSonera's employees were extremely proud to be the first in the world to launch a commercial 4G network. Telecom operators in other countries are starting to introduce their 4G networks only now, one year after TeliaSonera's launch. At the moment, Tommy is working on coordinating all parts of the development project. In this role, he is the face of TeliaSonera externally. In 2010, for example, he was a guest on TV4's morning talk show, Nyhetsmorgon, to explain how the technology would be used to help the media cover the royal wedding of Swedish Crown Princess Victoria in Stockholm.
In the media
It didn't take too long before the 4G network was being utilized for a number of important applications. During the royal wedding event in Stockholm, the new technology allowed millions of television viewers to watch Crown Princess Victoria's and Prince Daniel's ceremony. This was because TV4 broadcast a substantial part of the wedding over the 4G network.
"Large buses with equipment are normally used for live television broadcasts. These buses cost several million kronor and connecting to a satellite link also costs a lot of money. TV4 instead connected to our network and saved both time and money. During the wedding ceremony, the Scanpix photo agency was on location and also used our new 4G technology."
"They only needed a computer to transmit their photos. With 4G, they could also upload heavy photo files much faster than before."
The news media weren't the only ones thrilled with TeliaSonera's initiative. Banks also use the 4G network to back up their data connections for security purposes. “The application areas for 4G are only limited by our imagination”.
Working across borders
There is an important reason why Tommy likes his job so much at TeliaSonera: the company touches the lives of people every day. Tommy's department has 200 employees who are working intensively to ensure that TeliaSonera captures a leading position in the markets it operates in. They're also making sure that the best of TeliaSonera is being offered to customers around the world.
"We don't work in six isolated countries. All our countries work very closely together instead. Whether in Norway or Lithuania, it is important that the network functions well. We also use our resources freely across frontiers. If one of our Swedish employees is a specialist in a specific area, we use his/her knowledge in all our countries of operation."
The employees of Tommy's department are involved in cross-border projects every single day of the week. "We have many qualified employees, and when we mobilize our resources, we're unbeatable!” he ends.