TeliaSonera intros first commercial 4G LTE site
updated 10:40 am EDT, Tue May 26, 2009
TeliaSonera 1st 4G Site
TeliaSonera has become the first carrier to set up a commercial-ready 4G site based on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. Located in Stockholm, Sweden, the tower is part of a larger network that will be ready in 2010 and promises much faster Internet than 3G. Ericsson, which helped build the site, says 4G can reach a theoretical peak of 160Mbps; real-world speeds are likely to be much slower but still above the 7.2Mbps peak of existing 3G.
The development is an important step in the development of LTE, which has usually only been demonstrated on makeshift networks in most cases. Verizon as well as several Canadian and European carriers hope to switch to 4G sometime in 2010 and will have enough bandwidth to support HD video streaming, multiplayer games and other online features that have normally been off-limits with 3G. It should also reduce latency and improve stability to where voice-over-IP works as well as expected.
