Ericsson today said it has achieved interoperability between a commercial LTE device and LTE network, claiming the move to be a world-first. The Swedish vendor used Samsung’s new LTE dongles (pictured) and its own live LTE network in Stockholm. “This is the first time a commercial, standard compliant LTE device demonstrated full interoperability with a live network,” said Johan Wibergh, senior VP and head of networks at Ericsson, in a statement. Yesterday it was also announced that Samsung’s LTE dongles will be shipped to TeliaSonera in time for the operator’s commercial launch of LTE next year in Oslo and Stockholm. Ericsson has already been announced as the network vendor for TeliaSonera’s LTE launch in Stockholm, whilst Huawei will supply kit for the Oslo deployment. In separate but related news, Huawei today announced a tieup with Samsung for “the world’s first LTE IOT (Interoperability Test) in Europe in November to verify the interoperability of LTE network infrastructures and device terminals.” The IOT will use LTE modems manufactured by Samsung on Huawei’s LTE trial network in Europe.

Last month, Ericsson’s closest rival, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), claimed to have made the world’s first LTE call using commercial basestations and fully standard compliant software. Unlike Ericsson, NSN has missed out on the first high-profile LTE contracts and needs to raise its profile in this nascent space. Reports this week have suggested that NSN’s future is not secure, with analysts believing the company is a potential acquisition target.