International Business Briefs
4G/LTE network
STOCKHOLM: Nordic telecom operator TeliaSonera announced on Monday the launch in Stockholm and Oslo of the world’s first commercial 4G/LTE mobile network, up to 10 times faster than current networks, including today’s turbo 3G. The 4G/LTE network will enable the use of services requiring high transmission speed and capacity, such as advanced web TV broadcasting, extensive online gaming and web conferences, said Kenneth Karlberg, TeliaSonera’s president and head of mobile services. TeliaSonera, whose largest shareholder is the Swedish state with a stake of around 37 per cent and is 13.7 per cent owned by the Finnish state, said it held nationwide 4G/LTE licenses in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Speedy trains
LONDON: Britain trumpeted on Monday the launch of its first full high-speed domestic rail service, while unveiling plans for a network of the trains across the country in years to come. Prime Minister Gordon Brown was on hand at Saint Pancras station in London for the first services by the Japanese-built Javelin trains, slashing journey times between the capital and the county of Kent to the southeast. The Hitachi class 395 trains will reach speeds of up to 220 kilometres per hour, using sections of the London-to-Folkestone high-speed rail link built for Eurostar trains through the Channel Tunnel. The new 508-passenger trains will halve the journey time from coastal Dover to London.
