Norway’s Mobile Market Balances Competition and Performance

Data from GSMA Intelligence indicates that there were 6.07 million cellular mobile connections in Norway at the end of 2025. For context, many individuals use more than one mobile connection, so it is common for the total number of connections to exceed the total population. For instance, a person may have one mobile connection for personal use and another for work. The growing availability of eSIM technology has made it even easier to manage multiple connections in recent years.

GSMA Intelligence’s figures show that mobile connections in Norway were equal to 108 percent of the total population in October 2025. Looking at changes over time, the number of mobile connections in Norway declined by 35 thousand, or 0.6 percent, between the end of 2024 and the end of 2025.

At the same time, GSMA Intelligence reports that 99.1 percent of mobile connections in Norway can now be classified as broadband, meaning they connect through 3G, 4G, or 5G mobile networks. However, devices that are capable of connecting to broadband mobile networks do not always use cellular data. Some subscription plans may only provide access to voice and SMS services, so this broadband figure should not be interpreted as a direct measure of mobile internet usage.

Norway’s mobile market is characterised by a relatively concentrated structure, with three mobile network operators and a range of mobile virtual network operators that rely on wholesale access to the main networks. The three companies that operate mobile network infrastructure in Norway are Telenor, Telia Norway, and Ice. These operators account for the vast majority of mobile subscriptions in the country and provide the underlying infrastructure that supports a number of smaller service providers.

Historically, Norway’s mobile market has been dominated by two large operators. Telenor has long been the market leader, while Telia has served as the primary challenger since entering the market through its predecessor NetCom. Over the past decade, Ice has emerged as a third infrastructure operator following significant investment in network deployment.

The presence of three network operators has strengthened competition in the Norwegian mobile sector, although the market remains relatively concentrated compared with larger European markets.

Telenor continues to hold the largest share of mobile subscriptions in Norway. The company operates extensive nationwide infrastructure and has historically maintained strong coverage across both urban and rural areas.

Telenor Norway reports 111k FWA subs in Dec 2025, a number that is the same as in the beginning of 2022 (or 15k down from peak). The total number of fixed broadband subs (incl. FWA) is in decline as a growth in fibre subs can't compensate for losses in cable and FWA. FWA now 16% of total base.

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— Tefficient🚥 (@tefficient.bsky.social) 6 February 2026 at 08:14

Telenor also emerges as the dominant force in Norway’s mobile landscape, retaining its Best Network title and standing out as the most-awarded operator in Opensignal’s November 2025 report. From the awards grid, Telenor secures six outright wins and five joint wins, leading in 11 out of 15 measured categories. Telia follows with two outright and six joint wins, while ice collects five joint wins, according to real-world experience data recorded by users.

Telia Norway represents the second largest operator and competes directly with Telenor across most segments of the market. The operator has invested heavily in network upgrades in recent years and has expanded its 5G footprint across the country.

Following on several trials, Telia is first to launch 5G SA commercially in Norway. Telia now offers 5G SA as 'Avansert 5G' to B2B customers across its 5G network nationwide. kommunikasjon.ntb.no/pressemeldin...

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— Tefficient🚥 (@tefficient.bsky.social) 13 February 2026 at 06:18

Ice, the third network operator, has focused on building its own infrastructure while also relying on national roaming agreements to extend coverage beyond its network footprint. The company has positioned itself as a challenger operator with a focus on competitive pricing and data centric mobile plans.

Breaking: Lyse Tele (ice Norge) and Telia Norway to share mobile network across Norway, a first for the country. news.cision.com/telia-compan...

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— Tefficient🚥 (@tefficient.bsky.social) 2 February 2026 at 18:06

Norway has consistently ranked among the leading European markets in terms of mobile network performance and coverage. Independent benchmarking conducted by Rohde & Schwarz has placed Norwegian operators among the strongest performers globally, reflecting sustained investment in network infrastructure despite the country’s challenging geography and dispersed population. In recent testing covering more than 7,000 kilometres and over half of the population.

Which country - Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden - has the highest mobile and fixed broadband ARPU? What value for money do customers get? The Norwegian government's @dfd.regjeringen.no made this Tefficient analysis public. www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumente...

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— Tefficient🚥 (@tefficient.bsky.social) 8 March 2026 at 09:19

The country’s operators have invested heavily in 4G and more recently 5G infrastructure. For example, Telia reported that its 5G network now reaches close to 99 percent of Norway’s population following several years of nationwide deployment, highlighting the rapid pace of next generation network rollout in the market.

Recent industry developments include plans by Telia and Lyse, the parent company of Ice, to combine parts of their mobile radio access networks in Norway through a jointly owned entity. The companies expect the arrangement to reduce infrastructure costs and improve coverage while continuing to operate as separate retail competitors with independent core networks.

Norway’s mobile market is likely to remain relatively stable in terms of structure. The presence of three infrastructure operators, combined with a range of virtual operators, provides a balance between network investment and retail competition.

Future developments in the sector will likely be shaped by continued 5G deployment, infrastructure sharing arrangements, and the evolving role of wholesale access in supporting smaller mobile brands.

Related Posts: 

• Operator Watch Blog: How Telenor Keeps Svalbard Connected at the Edge of the World
• Private Networks Technology Blog: Telenor's Take on the Progress of Private 5G Networks
• Private Networks Technology Blog: Telia's Tactical Networks for Defence and Peacekeeping
• Operator Watch Blog: Norway is a Global Leader in Opensignal Global Awards 2022
• Operator Watch Blog: Telenor Norway says 5G is the Key Enabler for Modernization going forward
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: Telia Norway Launches 5G Fixed-Wireless Access (FWA)
• Operator Watch Blog: Ice - bringing 5G to Norway
• Operator Watch Blog: Telia 5G Strategy and Services 

Why Operators Must Simplify Before They Automate

The pursuit of end to end automation remains a cornerstone of modern telecommunications strategy as operators transition from traditional manual processes to fully autonomous networks. A recent panel by Mobile Europe, moderated by Inderpreet Kaur from Omdia, featuring Afnan Ahmed of Telenor, José Palma of MEO, and Beatriz Ortega of Red Hat explored the current state of this journey and the significant hurdles that remain before the industry can claim true network autonomy.

The discussion cantered on the TM Forum framework for autonomous networks which categorises progress into six levels from zero to five. While many operators are actively automating tasks, the majority currently sit between level one and level two. These early stages involve static or rule based automation where human intervention is required for most decisions. The transition to level three and level four represents a significant leap. At level four, the system manages observability, analysis, and execution with humans only defining the initial intent. This move from deterministic rule based logic to probabilistic reasoning powered by artificial intelligence is where the industry sees both the greatest potential and the most significant cultural resistance.

A recurring theme throughout the session was the challenge of data management. Although telecommunications networks generate vast quantities of information, this data often remains siloed within specific domains like radio access networks or core networks. Creating a unified data mesh or knowledge graph is essential for achieving cross domain automation. The panellists noted that the solution is not simply building a larger data lake. Instead, the focus must be on data correlation. When an issue occurs in one part of the network, the system must understand how that event impacts other domains in real time. Without this level of visibility, end to end automation remains impossible.

Another major obstacle is the sheer complexity of existing operations support systems. Some large operators manage over one thousand different tools, many of which are homegrown or vendor specific. This fragmentation makes it incredibly difficult to implement a cohesive automation strategy. Panellists suggested that operators must radically reimagine their tool suites. The goal should be a vendor agnostic architecture that follows open standards like the Open Digital Architecture from TM Forum. By simplifying the network environment before attempting to automate it, operators can avoid the trap of merely automating existing inefficiencies.

Moving to higher levels of autonomy requires a fundamental shift in how engineers interact with the network. There is a natural fear of losing control when a system begins making its own decisions. To combat this, experts recommend a phased approach where artificial intelligence is first used in an open loop system. In this model, the system provides recommendations that a human operator must validate. Only after the system has proven its reliability over time is the loop closed, allowing the software to execute changes automatically. This process of building trust is vital for ensuring network resilience as systems move toward self healing capabilities.

While operational efficiency and cost reduction are clear drivers, the panel emphasised that autonomy must be viewed as a business transformation rather than just a technical one. The ultimate goal is to enhance customer experience and enable new revenue streams through services like automated network slicing. By achieving level four autonomy, operators can respond to market demands with a speed that manual processes cannot match. This agility is necessary to compete in a digital ecosystem where customers expect near instantaneous service provisioning and seamless performance across diverse network environments.

The shift toward autonomous operations introduces new risks, particularly in cyber security. An automated network could potentially propagate an attack or a misconfiguration much faster than a manual one. There is also the concern of data poisoning, where malicious actors could inject false information to manipulate the decision making process of the network. To mitigate these risks, operators must maintain rigorous data governance and ensure that artificial intelligence decisions remain explainable. Providing a clear audit trail of why a system took a specific action is essential for security and regulatory compliance. Despite these challenges, the consensus remains that the journey toward autonomous networks is an inevitable and necessary evolution for the telecommunications industry.

The video of the discussion as follows: