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May 17, 2010

4G Wireless Off to Slow Start in Scandinavia: Report

Fourth generation wireless technology is getting off to a slow start in Scandinavia, analysts say.

According to an article on Yahoo! News, deployment is being slowed by the high cost of deploying 4G networks, which are typically layered over existing 3G networks, and the lack of available 4G phones on the market for consumers.

Because of the recent global recession, coupled with the high cost of the phones and the higher cost of 4G service, it will probably be a couple of years before 4G really takes off in the region, analysts say.

Swedish-Finnish operator TeliaSonera estimates that out of almost 400,000 potential 4G consumers in downtown Stockholm and Oslo, only about 1,000 have so far subscribed to its 4G services.

'As for the (4G-compatible) phones, we say "Forget it for now,'" TeliaSonera's vice-president of mobility services Lars Klasson was quoted as saying in the report.

Klasson added that Scandinavia is a "small market" and that the phone makers are waiting for larger markets like the US or Japan to launch 4G networks before making compatible phones.

Here in the US operators Verizon and At&T have begun rolling out 4G networks, which means phone makers are expected to start rolling out 4G models later this year.

Japan's NTT Docomo is also in the process of installing a 4G network.

For more, check out the report.


Patrick Barnard is a senior Web editor for MobilityTechzone, covering call and contact center technologies. He also compiles and regularly contributes to MobilityTechzone e-Newsletters in the areas of robotics, IT, M2M, OCS and customer interaction solutions. To read more of Patrick's articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Patrick Barnard


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