As the first operator in the world, TeliaSonera, a Swedish telecommunications company, on Monday launched 4G services commercially to customers in Stockholm and Oslo.

"The use of mobile broadband in the Nordic countries is exploding and customers need higher speed and capacity. This is why we launch 4G services in both Stockholm and Oslo," said Kenneth Karlberg, president and head of Mobility Services at a live webcast press conference in Stockholm.

Karlberg said 4G will open up new possibilities for customers to use and enjoy services on their laptops, requiring high transmission speed and capacity, such as advanced web TV broadcasting, extensive online gaming and web conferences.

He said the two pioneering 4G city networks cover the central areas of Stockholm and Oslo and will be used for mobile data. 4G is the fastest mobile technology available on the market with speed up to ten times higher than today's turbo 3G.

The Stockholm 4G city network is supplied by Ericsson and the Oslo 4G city network is supplied by Huawei. The modems at launch come from Samsung, according to a press release from the company.

Evaluation of supplies for TeliaSonera's common 4G core network and radio networks in the Nordic and Baltic countries will be selected at the beginning of next year.

(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2009)