4G Goes Live in Sweden and Norway

4G network technology has arrived in Oslo and Stockholm thanks to wireless carrier TeliaSonera.

As of Tuesday, people in Norway and Sweden will be able to buy a mobile dongle that supports the long-term evolution (LTE) of 4G.

The technology can deliver speeds of up to 100 megabits per second–ten times faster that its 3G predecessor.

In a press conference in Stockholm on Monday, Karlberg said LTE makes it possible “to do everything that you can do on the fixed network, but on top of that, [the network adds] the mobility dimension”. He said this combination of mobility and fixed-line-quality speeds and bandwidth would allow for “applications that we haven’t seen so far”.

At launch, TeliaSonera’s LTE services cover around 400,000 people in the centres of Stockholm and Oslo. However, the operator said it is adding base stations every day. That aside, users primary frustration will lie in the fact that no handsets can yet use 4G meaning customers will initially only be able to connect via a dongle and a laptop.

Until July 1, consumers keen to try out the technology will receive the modems for free and pay a subscription price of just 4 kronor a month. The price will then will increased to 500 kronor a month.

TeliaSonera said it expected the boost in speed to drive many novel applications including gaming on the move and much greater viewing of video on laptops.