4G cellular wireless technology, the successor of the 3G technology has taken birth in Sweden. TeliaSonera, a Swedish telecom operator, has made history as the first operator to offer 4G services.  The LTE (Long Term Evolution) 4G mobile service is supposed to allow very high speeds of wireless data transmissions. It is said to deliver almost 100Mbps, which is more than 10 times the speed offered by the 3G networks. The 3G speed offered is usually about 7.2Mbps.

The 4th generation technology will enable mobile handsets and other wireless devices to handle heavy data functions like video streaming, online gaming, video conferencing, viewing HD TV content and more.

Currently, the Swedish capital, Stockholm, and the Nordic capital, Oslo, are the only cities, blessed with the service. In 2010, the technology is likely to be made available in 25 other cities. There are very few devices that support the 4G networks. Hence, if customers wish to use the technology, they'll have to make their devices compatible with LTE.

TeliaSonera is presently offering a 4G modem to access the 4G networks. So until mobile phone makers and other mobile device makers start integrating the gadgets with 4G, these 4G modems will have to be used.

A crossover from 3G to 4G will definitely be quite a major undertaking, as setting up the network as well as making compatible gadgets will take time. Moreover, the network set up, should be backward compatible to allow existing 3G handhelds and devices to continue to function.