Vodafone to have full 4G coverage at the Bucharest underground by yearend

Higher mobile data adoption and smartphone penetration and pushing the M-Pesa service forward are the main drivers in the Vodafone strategy for next year. Giovanni Chiarelli, technology director at Vodafone Romania, tells BR that by the end of the year, the operator will be providing 4G speeds in all Bucharest underground stations.

Otilia Haraga

What are the priorities for the network development in 2015?

We will continue to expand our 4G coverage and to add more services to our performing 4G network. Vodafone Romania is currently covering 45 percent of Romania’s population with 4G services, while 4G+ is being deployed in six big cities: Bucharest, Brasov, Cluj, Iasi, Timisoara and Ploiesti. Vodafone Romania’s 4G network covers 100 percent of the population in 19 major cities: Bucharest, Brasov, Cluj, Timisoara, Constanta, Iasi, Craiova, Arad, Bacau, Ploiesti, Pitesti, Sibiu, Baia Mare, Botosani, Buzau, Galati, Oradea, Targu Mures and Braila.

In the next financial year, we will continue to grow our 4G and 4G+ coverage in Romania’s key cities and major tourism destinations.

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We will continuously enrich the Supernet umbrella, both on 4G and on 3G. (…) Our focus will also be to strengthen our position as market leader on the enterprise segment.

Do you plan to launch 4G services on the underground?

We currently cover with 2G and 3G 100 percent of the Bucharest underground stations and tunnels. In terms of 4G coverage, we cover 53 stations out of 56 in the M1, M2, M3 and M4 tunnels. By the end of the year, the 4G coverage will reach all the underground stations and tunnels.

What are Vodafone’s investment priorities next year?

We want to get every Romanian on the internet. Thus, since the launch of Supernet, we have seen a growth of over 150 percent in terms of mobile data usage on smartphones. We are constantly investing in Romania, each year, and now we add a supplementary EUR 55 million investment into our network and our stores over the next two years, as part of the Spring program.

We will continue to focus on growing the mobile data adoption, smartphone penetration, and M-Pesa, while also concentrating on our main network differentiators, in the 4G and 4G+ area.

Are there any plans to provide TV services in Romania next year?

We already provide access to TV, video and music content through our partnerships with SeeNow and Zonga; cross-platform apps powered by Vodafone.

Are there any plans to offer fixed telephony services for the consumers?

Aside from the business customers, Vodafone Romania’s consumer subscribers benefit, since May 2012, from fixed internet and voice services, through integrated solutions that provide broadband internet connections and fixed telephony services.