Synopsis
Norway’s mobile market is a triopoly between the network operators Telenor Mobile, TeliaSonera’s NetCom and the new player Mobile Norway, supplemented by a growing number of MVNOs. Mobile penetration reached 120% by early 2012, and although overall subscriber growth has fallen to about 3% the 3G sector has proved resilient, with strong growth resulting from new subscribers as well as from the rapid migration from GSM networks. The market is well advanced in LTE/4G developments, with both Telenor and NetCom spearheading networks in the region. Mobile Norway, a joint venture now controlled by Tele2, also adds to the competitive mix. Nordisk Mobiltelefon, recovered from its bankruptcy in early 2009, operates a 3G network in the 450MHz band. This report profiles Norway’s mobile voice and data market, providing statistics on the main operators, a review of the key regulatory issues, and a snapshot of the consumer market for services such as SMS, mobile TV and mobile broadband.
Key developments:
SMS traffic falls for the first time through smartphone messaging alternatives; mobile network traffic growth slows; TeliaSonera contracts Huawei and Ericsson to expand LTE network; Tele2 buys out minority shareholders in Network Norway; the number of M2M SIM cards reaches 600,000; MTRs set to 2013; MNOs set up m-commerce joint venture; regulator issues 2GHz spectrum auction rules; Telenor launched LTE network, expects 90% population coverage by 2015; regulator’s market data for 2011, telcos’ operating and financial data to September 2012; market developments to October 2012.
Companies covered in this report include:
Telenor Mobil, NetCom, Mobile Norway, Teletopia, Tele2.
