Mobile operator TeliaSonera claims the launch of first commercial LTE

European mobile operator TeliaSonera is claiming that it has launched the very first commercial LTE network in the world. With other operators building test-networks, pre-commercial pilots and other trial deployments, it’s quite possible that TeliaSonera has taken this particular achievement. But lets have a closer look at what it has actually accomplished.

First of all – what’s LTE?

LTE is the next standard is wireless communications. Where 3G technologies like GSM and CDMA first made it commercially possible to allow data services on wireless devices (including phones and modems), LTE is intended to be 4G, and replace them both with faster, bigger and more reliable data services. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, which serves as both the name of the new technology, and the philosophy behind it. Network upgrades have long been a thorn in the side of mobile operators, with massive costs and capital expenditure being involved with each evolution of telecoms networks. Long Term Evolution was designed carefully with an eye to future developments. At its core is the idea that future upgrades and developments should be cheaper and easier to integrate.

And now TeliaSonera has claimed that it has deployed the world’s first two commercial LTE networks 17 days ahead of what is generally considered the year of LTE, 2010. So far the networks are only available in two cities – Oslo in Norway, and Stockholm in Sweden.

What is TeliaSonera offering?

There aren’t any price details available yet, unfortunately. Those won’t come until later today, after a press conference. What we do know is that customers will have to buy a modem from Samsung to access the wireless network. Once you’ve got your modem, you should be able to access download speeds of up to 100Mbits per second – although operators are notoriously optimistic when it comes to the speeds they’ll actually provide.

Kenneth Karlberg, president and head of mobility services at TeliaSonera, said: “We are very proud to be the first operator in the world to offer our customers 4G services. The use of mobile broadband in the Nordic countries is exploding and customers need higher speeds and capacity. This is why we [have launched] 4G services in both Stockholm and Oslo.”

What we think?

While I’m happy to see an LTE network launch, I’d be happier if there was a clear plan for mobile included. So far it seems to only be for home users – where the really potent uses of LTE will be in the mobile field. We’ll see.