Bhutan Telecom (BT) has extended its partnership with Ericsson to launch LTE services in Bhutan.

This will enable the operator to offer higher peak data rates, scalable bandwidth and avail of increased spectral efficiency. Commercial LTE services will initially be launched in Bhutan’s capital city, Thimpu.

As part of the 4G deployment, Ericsson will provide Bhutan Telecom with LTE equipment in the 1800 MHz spectrum band, including the RBS 6000 radio base station technology. Under the contract, Ericsson will also provide its home subscriber server (HSS) functionality that contains subscription-related information and performs authentication and authorisation of the user.

The company will upgrade Bhutan Telecom’s packet core to a multi-access evolved packet core to optimise network operation and minimise the total cost of ownership. The contract includes provisioning of LTE software for various nodes, and services including network implementation, commissioning and integration.

The operator has partnered with Ericsson since 2003 to roll out mobile services in the country. 3G services were launched in 2008.

Commenting on the partnership, Fredrik Jejdling head, region India, Ericsson said, "The increasing use of smart devices and data-hungry applications is putting a huge pressure on operators to continue evolving their mobile broadband strategy.4G LTE gives users more of what they want; faster data access. It will transform the way people in Bhutan communicate, share information, collaborate, consume content and stay connected."