Norwegian telecommunications major Telenor has chosen the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard as testing ground for its new 4G network.

The network was opened on Sunday in connection with Telenor’s 100 years anniversary on Svalbard. Telenor opened its first telegraph station in Svalbard in 1911, and now - after 100 years - Svalbard is probably among the world\'s most digitalized communities.

The world\'s northernmost 4G/LTE network was opened in in Longyearbyen by Telenor\'s chairman Harald Norvik and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas, Svalbardpostenwrites.

The 4G network is for the present on a testing stage for some of Telenor’s largest clients on Svalbard, and will not be open for the public until next year.

4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards and provides faster data transmission than its predecessors 3G and 2G. 4G is expected to provide a comprehensive and secure mobile broadband solution to laptop computer, smartphones, and other mobile devices. Peak speed is 100 Mbit per second.