Telenor on the EDGE

"Coverage, quality and capacity have always been Telenor Mobil's greatest competitive advantages. With the help of the EDGE technology, which can be implemented in our existing base stations, it will be possible to offer more customers faster data transfer capacity", says Executive Vice President Morten Karlsen Sørby, who is responsible for Telenor in the Norwegian market.

"At the same time it is important to emphasise that the EDGE focus comes as an expansion of, and not as an alternative to, Telenor's ongoing development of the new mobile network UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System). One of the most interesting aspects of EDGE is that it enables use of new and advanced services through an upgrade of the existing GSM mobile network. By combining the two technologies we will more quickly be able to offer a high speed network with excellent quality and coverage where the customers need it", says Karlsen Sørby.

With EDGE, the data transfer rate will be three times what is possible with today's mobile services. Mobile phone users will first of all experience faster access to the services and better quality, picture and colours.

Facts about EDGE:
EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) is a technology that increases capacity, improves quality and allows use of advances services over the existing GSM network . EDGE is an upgrade of today's system for data transfer in the GSM network called GPRS (General Packet Radio Services). The EDGE transfer rate is substantially faster than what is possible with the GPRS technology and can reach between 100 and 200 kbit/s under perfect circumstances..