Sweden remains one of Europe's most advanced telecommunications markets, characterised by high mobile adoption, extensive 5G coverage and continued investment in digital infrastructure. The country's mobile market is dominated by four operators: Telia Sweden, Tele2, Telenor Sweden and Tre Sverige (Three). While the market is mature, competition remains strong, particularly around network performance, coverage, pricing and increasingly enterprise connectivity services.
Sweden benefits from widespread fibre infrastructure, high levels of digital adoption and an established telecommunications industry. With limited opportunities for significant growth in traditional mobile subscriptions, operators are increasingly focusing on improving network quality, expanding 5G capabilities and developing new revenue streams through enterprise services, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), IoT and advanced connectivity solutions.
According to GSMA Intelligence figures published by DataReportal, Sweden had approximately 14.8 million cellular mobile connections in late 2025, equivalent to 139% of its population. This reflects widespread use of multiple subscriptions, including separate personal and business connections, rather than the number of individual mobile users.
The number of mobile connections increased by approximately 232,000, or 1.6%, during 2025. The same dataset indicates that 99.1% of connections were classified as broadband-capable, although this does not necessarily mean that every connection was actively used for mobile internet access.
Sweden's national regulator, the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS), provides additional insights into the market. Its Swedish Telecommunications Market 2025 report, published in May 2026, recorded approximately 15.1 million mobile subscriptions at the end of 2025. This is slightly higher than the GSMA Intelligence estimate, reflecting differences between the datasets and their reporting methodologies.
According to PTS, Telia remained the largest operator with 30.3% of mobile subscriptions, followed by Tele2 with 25.8%, Telenor with 20.5% and Tre (Hi3G) with 19.1%. Other operators collectively accounted for approximately 4.3%. These figures include subscriptions attributed to the respective operator groups.
Telia has traditionally benefited from its extensive coverage, strong brand recognition and significant enterprise customer base. The operator continues to invest in network modernisation, rural connectivity and services for businesses and critical infrastructure. By the end of 2025, Telia reported that its 5G network covered approximately 99% of Sweden's population.
Tele2 is another major player, offering mobile, broadband and television services alongside enterprise connectivity solutions. The operator has invested heavily in network modernisation and has been particularly active in expanding its 5G footprint.
Telenor Sweden also has a substantial presence in both consumer and business markets. In addition to mobile services, it provides fixed broadband, television and enterprise communications solutions. Its priorities include network performance, security and advanced connectivity services for businesses.
Tre Sverige, operated by Hi3G Access, has a more mobile-focused business model and has traditionally competed through pricing, data allowances and mobile broadband services. It has also been active in introducing newer 5G capabilities, including 5G Standalone and millimetre wave deployments.
One particularly interesting aspect of Sweden's mobile market is the extensive use of network sharing. Tele2 and Telenor operate a joint mobile network through Net4Mobility, a company established in 2009 to build and operate shared mobile infrastructure. Although the operators compete commercially, they share substantial radio network infrastructure, allowing them to reduce deployment costs and accelerate coverage expansion.
In September 2025, Tele2 and Telenor announced that their shared 5G network had reached 99.9% of the Swedish population and approximately 90% of the country's land area. The expansion was supported by activating 5G in the 700 MHz band, providing wider geographical coverage and improved indoor penetration. Higher-frequency spectrum around 3.5 GHz is used to provide additional capacity in urban and other high-demand locations.
This illustrates how network sharing can support extensive geographical coverage while allowing operators to maintain separate commercial strategies.
Independent measurements also provide useful insights into competition. The Opensignal Mobile Network Experience Report for December 2025 found that Telenor led in overall download speed experience and Time on 5G, while Tele2 achieved the highest 5G download speeds. Telia led in overall coverage experience and 5G upload speeds, while Tele2 and Telenor shared the lead in 5G coverage experience.
These results highlight an important distinction between geographical network coverage and the experience customers receive in everyday use. An operator may provide extensive 5G coverage without necessarily delivering the highest speeds or the greatest proportion of time connected to 5G.
Sweden's 5G adoption has continued to accelerate. According to PTS, approximately 8.7 million mobile subscriptions had used 5G services by the end of 2025, representing around 60% of mobile subscriptions. This was an increase of approximately 2.2 million compared with the previous year.
Mobile data traffic also increased substantially. Total traffic across Swedish mobile networks reached approximately 5,300 petabytes in 2025, an increase of around 20% year on year. Of this, approximately 1,600 petabytes were carried over 5G networks, more than double the previous year's volume. Nevertheless, 4G continued to carry the majority of mobile data traffic, accounting for approximately 3,600 petabytes.
Fixed Wireless Access is becoming another important part of the mobile market. PTS recorded approximately 420,000 FWA subscriptions at the end of 2025, an increase of more than 20% during the year. Despite representing a relatively small proportion of total mobile subscriptions, FWA accounted for more than one-third of mobile data traffic. This demonstrates the increasing importance of mobile networks as an alternative broadband access technology, particularly where fixed connectivity options are less attractive or more expensive to deploy.
Another important development has been the transition from 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) to 5G Standalone (SA). Unlike NSA, which relies on a 4G core network, SA uses a 5G core and enables capabilities such as network slicing, improved service differentiation and more advanced enterprise connectivity.
In June 2026, Telia launched Telia Critical IoT Connectivity, a commercial service using 5G Standalone technology. The service targets applications requiring secure and predictable connectivity, including emergency services, energy, transport, healthcare and industrial environments. Telia stated that SA capabilities had been deployed throughout its Swedish 5G footprint, although access to the technology also depends on compatible devices and subscriptions.
Tele2 operates one of Sweden's strongest mobile network's and has strengthened its position following years of investment in spectrum and infrastructure. The operator continues focusing on customer experience, converged broadband offerings and business connectivity.
Telenor has also introduced commercial 5G SA services for enterprises. In June 2026, the operator announced its 5G Laptop Connect service, with Ericsson becoming an early customer. The solution enables compatible laptops to connect directly to mobile networks using SIM or eSIM technology, providing an alternative to conventional Wi-Fi connectivity for enterprise users.
Tre Sverige was among the first operators to introduce commercial 5G SA capabilities. In May 2025, it activated a 26 GHz millimetre wave 5G SA deployment at Stockholm's 3Arena, demonstrating the potential for delivering very high capacity in crowded environments. This was followed by a broader commercial 5G SA launch towards the end of 2025, supported by Ericsson technology.
These developments suggest that the next phase of 5G competition in Sweden will increasingly focus on differentiated services and enterprise applications rather than simply improving consumer download speeds.
Sweden has also progressed significantly with the retirement of older mobile technologies. During 2025, all four operators completed the shutdown of their 3G networks. Tele2 and Telenor also retired their shared 2G network, while Telia plans to maintain its 2G network until the end of 2027.
The transition has not been entirely straightforward. PTS reported that some mobile phones capable of normal calls over 4G could not reliably make emergency calls to 112 after older networks were switched off. This required regulatory intervention and highlighted the importance of ensuring device compatibility and emergency service continuity during network technology transitions.
The retirement of legacy networks also has implications for older M2M and IoT equipment used in vehicles, utilities, healthcare and other sectors. Operators and enterprises must ensure that connected devices can continue functioning as older technologies disappear.
Looking ahead, Sweden's mobile market is likely to remain focused on improving network performance, extending 5G Standalone services and developing connectivity solutions beyond conventional consumer mobile broadband. Network automation, energy efficiency, resilience and enterprise connectivity will become increasingly important investment priorities.
Sweden provides an interesting example of how a mature mobile market can continue evolving through network sharing, extensive 5G deployment and the development of advanced services. While subscriber growth may remain modest, the expanding role of mobile connectivity in broadband access, industrial applications and critical infrastructure should create further opportunities for operators over the remainder of the decade.
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