RIGA, June 4 (LETA) - Mobile operator Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT) will invest EUR 38 million in network and infrastructure development this year, the company informed LETA.

LMT Group has invested in infrastructure development in the first five months of this year. Ten new mobile base stations have been built and more than 200 upgraded or reconstructed, expanding network coverage and capacity. The total number of LMT base stations across Latvia has exceeded 1,700.

Juris Binde, President of the LMT Group, pointed out that the targeted construction of a 5G network in all regions of Latvia is the next step to further enhance Latvia's resilience, business and industry development in the regions, and to provide quality services that are in line with the growing data traffic volumes. The company is working not only to increase network capacity, but also to be resilient and ready for different situations - during the National Guard exercises, the possibilities of deploying a resilient network were tested in mobile conditions, and satellite communications were successfully tested as an additional solution for a mobile base station.

Work also continues on the development of 5G Standalone or 5G+ in commercial mode. Standalone 5G enables the provision of additional services and functionality to customers, as well as the creation of new high resilience and security solutions. 5G+ with lower latency and higher upload speeds is critical for autonomous vehicles or remote operations, but also for processing large amounts of data, streaming video and developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools for the Internet of Things (IoT).

LMT Group's turnover last year was reported at EUR 333.777 million, up 8.9 percent on 2024, while group profit fell 1.6 percent to EUR 33.409 million. LMT turnover last year was EUR 196.918 million, up 8.3 percent year-on-year, but its profit fell 0.1 percent to EUR 31.608 million.

LMT is 49 percent owned by the Swedish Telia Company and its subsidiary Sonera Holding, 23 percent each by Tet and the Latvian State Radio and Television Center, and 5 percent by public asset manager Possessor.

As reported, Telia has signed a memorandum of understanding with Latvia, Latvenergo, and the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC) to sell all its shares in Tet and LMT.