Polish player Mobyland, in partnership with peer CenterNet, has launched a commercial LTE network, moving from 2G operations to LTE without appearing to have deployed a 3G network in the interim. The network, which has been supplied by Huawei, is also said to be the first commercial LTE deployment in the 1800MHz band, compared with the more commonly supported 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum.  The companies have “refarmed” existing 2G spectrum, enabling them to avoid the costs associated with new spectrum acquisitions and gain a headstart over more established rivals in the country. The CenterNet/Mobyland network covers major Polish cities including Warsaw, Katowice  and Lodz, with the intention to have deployed 700 base stations covering more than seven million people by the end of 2010.

Mobyland is owned by another Polish operator, Aero2, which does have a 3G network in the country, enabling the potential for the two to jointly offer a full portfolio of connectivity options. CenterNet, a 2G-only operator, has also been widely described as an Aero2 company, although it describes itself as a subsidiary of investment fund NFI Midas, in which Aero2 appears to be a minority shareholder. The companies share management links: Adam Kurianski, President of CenterNet, also serves on the board of Mobyland. The new-entrants compete against a number of established competitors in the market:  Orange Poland, Deutsche Telekom’s Era, Play (P4) and Plus (Polkomtel).  Separately, Telecompaper reported that Plus, which is believed to be the target of private equity attention, is testing LTE in Krynica-Zdroj, using 2.6GHz spectrum and infrastructure supplied by Nokia Siemens Networks.