Broadband News

World’s first 4G mobile broadband launched

Wednesday, 16 December 2009

Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

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Norway and Sweden have become the first countries in the world to receive superfast 4G mobile broadband services.

Scandinavian operator TeliaSonera launched the its next generation Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile broadband service yesterday in Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway, offering a maximum speed of up to 100Mb and real-world downloads at between 20Mb and 80Mb.

“We are very proud to be the first operator in the world to offer our customers 4G services,” said Kenneth Karlberg, president and head of mobility services at TeliaSonera.

“The use of mobile broadband in the Nordic countries is exploding and customers need higher speeds and capacity. This is why we launch 4G services in both Stockholm and Oslo.”

Next generation mobile broadband would enable services such as advanced internet TV, extensive online gaming and web conferences, said the provider.

“Being first out with new technology gives us unique experience that we can use on all our markets. We will continue the roll-out to offer our customers new communication services for the future,” concluded Karlberg.

At launch TeleSonera said that its new high speed service would be available to around 400,000 people. It will cost approximately £52 a month and will not have a cap on downloads until 1 July 2010, after which it will have a 30GB monthly download allowance.

Earlier this week O2 Mobile Broadband (www.O2.co.uk) announced the first UK trials of next generation 4G mobile broadband.

Michael Phillips, Broadbandchoices.co.uk product director, said: “This is a really exciting development that takes mobile broadband to the next level and could make it a real competitor for fixed line connections.”

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