Europe’s leading mobile phone operators have dashed the hopes of telecommunications equipment makers for a bonanza from the launch of fourth generation wireless networks.

Vodafone, France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom will delay spending billions of euros on rolling out 4G networks for at least two or three years, partly because they need to reassure investors about their capital expenditure plans.

4G wireless technology should allow documents to be downloaded almost instantaneously and videos to be watched in high-definition quality. Trials of the main 4G technology – Long Term Evolution – suggest it will enable download speeds of more than 50 megabits per second, better than many fixed-line broadband networks. The world’s leading telecoms equipment makers, already bracing themselves for falling sales this year, will be disappointed that Europe’s mobile operators are not planning faster deployment of LTE networks.