Europe's TeliaSonera first with 4G by 2010
updated 05:15 pm EST, Thu January 15, 2009
TeliaSonera first with 4G
TeliaSonera announced on Thursday it expects to become the first wireless provider in the world to offer the next-generation 4G mobile broadband network to its customers. The company is on course to launch the service in Stockholm and Oslo in 2010, partnering with hardware maker Ericsson for the initial 4G city network in Stockholm and Huawei in Oslo. Talks with suppliers for 4G-ready devices in other Nordic and Baltic countries are currently in progress, TeliaSonera's Senior Vice President and CTO, Lars Klasson, adds.
The new 4G/LTE system is based on 3GPP standards and will allow its users to access data at speeds suitable for media streaming and interactive services yet to be launched. Compared to today's 3G network speeds, ranging from 3.6Mbps to 7.2Mbps depending on the hardware, 4G/LTE networks will allow for theoretial maximums of 100Mbps.
In the US, AT&T and Verizon are expected to launch their own LTE networks in the future, with Verizon launching its 4G network in earnest early in 2010.
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Note that T-mobile also announced their planned rollout of a LTE-based 4G network, leaving Sprint as the only US carrier not currently planning on using that 4G standard.