Norway
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Norway
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
Ice keeps hold of Availability with a near perfect score
Ice is the winner of the Availability award for a second time in a row, this time with an almost perfect score of 99.3% — around 2.9 percentage points higher than Telia and Telenor, which tie for second place. This means that our users on ice's network spend over 99% of their time with a 3G or better connection.
The most consistent experience is still with Telenor
Telenor wins both consistent quality awards for the third consecutive time. The operator wins Core Consistent Quality with a score of 94.6% and Excellent Consistent Quality with a score of 91.1%. The two awards represent the proportion of users' tests that meet the minimum performance thresholds for less and more demanding mobile applications, respectively.
Telenor remains top for Download Speed Experience
Telenor retains its outright win for Download Speed Experience, clocking in at a very impressive 104.1Mbps. Telia is not far behind, with a respectable score of 97.9Mbps earning the operator second place — ice has a fair bit of catching up to do, as its score of 42.5Mbps is under half that of Telenor's. Telenor also places joint first in the remaining three speed metrics — Upload Speed Experience, 5G Download Speed and 5G Upload Speed — sharing the awards with Telia.
5G boosts average download speeds by over 2.5 times in Norway
Compared to Download Speed Experience, all three operators' users see large 5G to overall uplift in average download speeds — from 2.5 times for Telenor and ice, to 2.7 times for Telia. Telia and Telenor tie for the 5G Download Speed award with statistically level scores of 261.2-261.5Mbps — over 2.4 times the speeds seen on third-placed ice.
Telenor is on the winners' podium for all but one award
Telenor now shares the 5G Video Experience award with both ice and Telia — Telia won this award outright in the previous report. This means that Telenor places at least joint first in every single award except for Availability, in which it comes second to ice. Many of the experiential metrics are three-way ties, indicating close rivalry in the Norwegian telecommunication market.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In the latest Opensignal analysis on the mobile network experience in Norway, we have reported on ice's 5G experience for the first time — the operator makes quite an entrance, sharing the victory for three 5G awards. It is, however, Telenor which takes home the lion's share of the awards. The operator wins three awards outright and shares a further 10, bringing its tally up to 13 out of 14 awards — missing out only on the Availability award. Telenor retains its outright wins for both consistency awards, and its solo victory for Download Speed Experience. Alongside this, the operator retains all of its joint wins from the previous report, and adds a shared first place finish for 5G Video Experience.
Telia also has a decently sized award haul, managing nine joint wins — notably, the operator shares the winners' podium for every 5G award, either with Telenor, or including ice for a three-way-tie.
Ice defends its only outright win (Availability), with six further joint wins bringing its tally up to seven awards. Ice now shares overall Video Experience, 5G Video Experience, 5G Games Experience and 5G Voice App Experience with Telia and Telenor.
Opensignal has recently published an analysis using our new Coverage Experience metric — representing the real-world experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage. In this report, Telenor comes first for Overall Coverage Experience with a score of 8.3 points on a 10-point scale — Telia and ice follow in second and third, with scores of 7.8 and 3.7 points, respectively. However, it is Telia that leads for 5G Coverage Experience, its score of three points just beating Telenor’s 2.8 points. Ice has a bit of catching up to do, scoring 0.5 points for 5G Coverage Experience.
Norway's National Communications Authority (Nkom) has stated that there is a continued need for regulation in the Norwegian mobile market. It intends to use another three-to-four-year regulatory period to ensure that ice and MVNOs can compete with the well-established infrastructure operators, Telia and Telenor.
Nkom has officially opened up mid-band spectrum, 3.8-4.2GHz, for local 5G network deployments. Companies can apply for licenses for low-power and medium-power base stations. The licenses are to serve geographically delimited areas and are meant as a supplement to national cellular coverage. Nkom is also preparing to allocate spectrum in the 1.5GHz and 26GHz bands. The watchdog expects to offer the spectrum in 2023, and is currently planning to present a framework for the spectrum allocation in the third quarter of 2023.
In this report, we examine the mobile network experience of the three major mobile network operators in Norway — ice, Telenor and Telia — over a period of 90 days starting on February 1, 2023 and ending on May 1, 2023, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Ice, Telia and Telenor jointly win the Video Experience award, with statistically tied scores of 72-73.3 points on a 100-point scale.
All three operators place in the Very Good (68-78) category for Video Experience. This means that our users on all three networks are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:
- 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.
National Analysis
All three operators jointly win the Games Experience award once again, this time with statistically tied scores of 77-77.5 points on a 100-point scale.
All three operators place in the Good (75-85) category for Games Experience — most users deem the experience acceptable. The gameplay experience is generally controllable, and the user receives immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users do not experience a delay between their actions and the game.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.
Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:
- 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
The Voice App Experience award goes to both Telenor and ice, as Telia has slipped to third place. Telenor and ice have statistically tied scores of 80.8-81.1 points on a 100-point scale — around 0.8 points higher than Telia.
All three operators place in the Good (80-87) category meaning that many users are satisfied. Minor quality impairments are experienced by some users. Sometimes the background is not quite clear, it could be either hazy or not loud enough. Clicking sounds or distortion are very rarely present.
Definitions
Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Voice App Experience, we report on the following metrics related to voice app experience:
- 5G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Voice App Experience – 5G Users: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G voice app experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Telenor retains its outright win for Download Speed Experience, clocking in at a very impressive 104.1Mbps. Telia is not far behind, with a respectable score of 97.9Mbps earning the operator second place — ice has a fair bit of catching up to do, as its score of 42.5Mbps is under half that of Telenor's. Telia and Telenor have seen their scores increase since the previous report, with Telia seeing the largest increase of 11.6Mbps (13.4%), while Telenor follows with 7Mbps (7.2%).
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
Telenor and Telia share the gold yet again for Upload Speed Experience, marking the third time in a row that these operators have jointly won the award. Telia and Telenor tie with a score of 19.4-19.8Mbps — around 5.8Mbps (41.6%) above ice, which comes in third place. Users on Telia's and Telenor's networks saw significant increases in speed between reports, with their average overall upload speeds increasing by 2.7Mbps and 2.9Mbps, respectively.
Definitions
Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.
In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:
- 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
5G Experience
National Analysis
Telia and Telenor now share the 5G Video Experience award with ice, as all three Norwegian operators tie for first place. Telia, Telenor and ice tie with statistically similar scores of 76.9-77.4 points on a 100-point scale, placing them all in the Very Good (68-78) category — narrowly missing out on an Excellent (78 or above) rating.
A Very Good rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
5G Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
All three Norwegian national operators statistically tie for 5G Games Experience, with ice joining Telia and Telenor in first place. Telenor, Telia and ice statistically tie with scores of 82.4-83.6 points on a 100-point scale. All three operators place in the Good (80-85) category.
A Good rating means that most users deem the experience acceptable. The gameplay experience is generally controllable and the users receive immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users do not experience a delay between their actions and the game.
Definitions
5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
5G Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world. Calculating 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.
National Analysis
Ice steps onto the winners' podium for 5G Voice App Experience, sharing the award with previous winners, Telia and Telenor. The three operators score 82.1-83.7 points on a 100-point scale. All three operators place in the Good (80-87) category.
A Good rating means that many users are satisfied. Minor quality impairments are experienced by some users. Sometimes the background is not quite clear, it could be either hazy or not loud enough. Clicking sounds or distortion are very rarely present.
Definitions
5G Voice App Experience quantifies the experience of Opensignal users when using over-the-top voice apps — such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — on an operator’s 5G network. It uses a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. 5G Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
National Analysis
For the fourth consecutive time, Telia and Telenor tie for the 5G Download Speed award. The pair have statistically level scores of 261.2-261.5Mbps — over 2.4 times the speeds seen on third-placed ice (107.9Mbps).
Compared to Download Speed Experience, all three operators' users see large 5G to overall uplift in average download speeds — from 2.5 times for Telenor and ice, to 2.7 times for Telia.
Definitions
5G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
National Analysis
Telia and Telenor continue to share the 5G Upload Speed award, this time with scores of 40.6-41.3Mbps — around 16.4Mbps (66.9%) ahead of ice.
Compared to Upload Speed Experience, all three operators' users see similar 5G to overall uplifts in average upload speeds — 1.8 times for ice, two times for Telenor and 2.1 times for Telia.
Definitions
5G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
Coverage
ice
Telenor
Telia
National Analysis
Ice keeps a tight grip on the Availability award. The operator has an almost perfect score of 99.3% — around 2.9 percentage points higher than Telia and Telenor, which tie for second place. This means that our users on ice's network spend over 99% of their time with a 3G or better connection. The only operator to see a significant difference in score since the last report is Telia — a 1.9 percentage point decrease.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
National Analysis
Telia and Telenor once again share the 5G Availability award — an award they have jointly won since its introduction in Norwegian mobile network experience reports. The pair tie with statistically similar scores of 13-14.8%, ice trails in third with 5.9%.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
5G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
Consistency
National Analysis
Telenor wins the Excellent Consistent Quality award with a score of 91.1% — around a 2.6 percentage point lead over ice and Telia, which both come second with statistically tied scores of 88.5-88.7%.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Excellent Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games.
National Analysis
Telenor wins the Core Consistent Quality award with a score of 94.6% — 0.5 percentage points ahead of second-placed Telia. Ice is in last place, its score of 93% only around 1.6 percentage points below first place.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Core Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing.
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
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Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
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Confidence Intervals
For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.
In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.
In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.
Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience