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5G technician – A job well above the ground
Working as a 5G technician is a very exciting and varied job. We have visited two of our employees from the Transtema...
4 min read
One of the worst things a business can do in today’s market is to be complacent. As rapid technological breakthroughs pave the way for more innovative solutions to society’s problems, stagnation is often viewed as going backwards and can be especially devastating for a company working in a tech industry.
UBConnect, a telecommunication company specializing in 5G rollouts and indoor coverage projects, has been on the Norwegian market for close to a decade and the company’s CEO Lasse B. Bjørgan attributes its success to a unique combination of values in the company.
-Always be humble, but ambitious. Humble means you are respectful towards colleagues, yourself and the customer – but ambitious means we want more. We want to learn more, we want to do more, and that’s what we strive for. It’s important, however, to keep our identity as we grow.
Record-breaking year
-2022 has been an all-time-high year for UBConnect, in terms of both revenue and number of employees hired, shares Lasse. -We’ve experienced more than a 40% revenue increase compared to [2021], which is the result of an increased number of projects from both new and returning customers – and this trust is something that we truly value and appreciate. To cope with the production volume, we’ve also established and expanded our offices in Poland and Slovakia, and now have more than 240 employees all over Europe.
-Through extraordinary effort from everybody, we’ve set new records in every single project we worked on. There is always room for improvement and development, but I can confidently say that you can’t look at any of our projects without admitting that every person on it did an amazing job, even with the added challenge of keeping production up during the company’s expansion and influx of new people. I’m extremely proud of the effort and the results from everybody, states Lasse.
A landmark project
In a whirlwind of projects and successes, there’s one that stands out in Lasse’s mind.
-We are fortunate to have been a part of Norway’s history, as we have worked on the Sunrise project. Norway set a goal to deactivate its copper network by November 30th [of 2022], which meant that service users in areas that relied on this network needed replacement mobile sites. Most of these areas are more rural and remote in nature, so this project was quite demanding – just getting power to these new sites, but also pouring foundations, organizing equipment and material transport, was a project in and of itself.
-Despite the difficulties, we managed to complete it within the deadline and I’m extremely proud - and also relieved - because I know how important this project was to both our customer and their end-users that they have continued service.
The 5-year plan
When asked about the company’s future plans, Lasse already has it mapped out.
-We will continue to develop as a company and have several areas we’ll be focusing on in the coming year. We are currently highly specialized in the field of mobile rollouts and indoor coverage, but we need to broaden our portfolio and expand into new services in the next 5 years.
-We will also expand into new markets– an ambition we’ve already made a reality, as we already have two pilot projects lined up in Sweden. As the company originated in Norway, we’re instinctively looking to other Nordic countries, but since we’re present in other European countries as well, we will be looking into those markets too.
Being part of the Transtema group 
UBConnect was bought by the Transtema Group in January 2023, and there’s no doubt in Lasse’s mind that it’s a great thing.
-I believe it is a natural step for us, he explains. -Transtema and UBConnect together present a perfect synergy in many ways, from our industry to our values. With this move [Transtema and UBConnect] can now provide mobile implementation and maintenance services to all of Nordics.
-UBConnect will continue its development as a company, as we are still an independent entity within the group, but now we’ll be able to do so in even better standing than before. We will be responsible for all mobile projects in the group and will continue our growth into other Nordic countries – aligning perfectly with Transtema’s ambition to be number 1 in the region. We have a good foundation with our years of experience working on 5G equipment, as well as our international setup, and we are eager to expand further, says Lasse.
An exciting place to be
-I think working on projects is very fun – demanding, but also something that you can learn from and grow on. The projects we work on are all centered around the newest technology in the field of telecommunication, so we are the perfect company to work with for engineers and tech-oriented people, explains Lasse.
-Our international setup also means that you get the chance to interact with colleagues from all over Europe, which is rewarding in and of itself. An added bonus is that, as we are currently in a phase of rapid expansion, everyone that joins us will play an integral role in the growth of the company and will contribute to its development.
-We are, and strive to be, a transparent company, because we believe all employees should know what the goals are, what they should be doing, what their colleagues are doing etc. Working in such an open environment in a system that’s set up with teamwork in mind is what sets UBConnect apart and makes it such an attractive company to work with.