4G LTE Smartphones To Go On Sale In Sweden

Swedish network TeliaSonera has announced that it will begin selling 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) smartphones in the country.

In early 2010, the operator was the first in the world to launch a commercial LTE network, but until now, customers had been accessing the service via USB dongles and laptops.

Throw away your dongles

TeliaSonera will sell the Samsung Galaxy II LTE, which is available for free if customers sign up for a two-and-a-half-year contract. The device will use the fast 4G network for data services and will switch, supposedly seamlessly, for voice calls.

Announced in August last year, the Galaxy II LTE is capable of download speeds of 100Mbps and uploads of 50Mbps. It offers a number of improvements over the 3G version of the smartphone, including a larger 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, a more powerful 1.5GHz dual core processor and an eight megapixel camera capable of capturing high-definition photos and videos.

However don’t expect such a service to arrive on British shores in the near future. Ofcom has only recently revealed its revised proposals for the perpetually delayed auction of 4G spectrum in the UK, ahead of a second consultation into the process.

A series of delays have led to Ofcom warning that 4G networks may not be available in the country for another four years – apart from UK Broadband’s network on 3.5GHz spectrum.  The European Union has said that member states must clear the 800MHz band by the end of 2012 and it is claimed that the delays in rolling out 4G in the UK could cost British businesses £730 million a year.

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