Ericsson LTE Test License in Turkey Is Canceled by Regulator

A license held by Ericsson AB (ERICB) to test long-term evolution wireless technology in Turkey was canceled because the Swedish company violated liability requirements, the market regulator said today.

Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS (TCELL), Turkey’s biggest mobile operator, is “understood to have conducted LTE tests with the license granted to Ericsson,” the Ankara-based watchdog said on its website. LTE is a new wireless standard that provides faster access to the Web.

The license granted to Ericsson on Jan. 3 gave the company a year to conduct tests in six locations in Turkey, the regulator said. It was canceled after the Stockholm-based company failed to comply with liability provisions “despite warnings.”

The regulator will also investigate Turkcell, which doesn’t have its own license to conduct LTE tests, it said. A Turkcell spokesman declined to comment. Ericsson’s Turkey office didn’t answer calls seeking comment.

Alcatel-Lucent, based in Paris, and Nokia Siemens Networks hold similar licenses in Turkey, according to the regulator.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ercan Ersoy in Istanbul at eersoy@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net