About our History
More than 150 years of accumulated experience within telecommunications, coupled with a pioneering spirit and a quest for knowledge and development – are what have brought Telenor to where it is today. Telenor Group has operations in 13 markets around the world and is still expanding. Go ahead and explore our history – in text, film and pictures.
View the Telenor History
Duration: 5:01
1994
The Winter Olympic Games at Lillehammer in 1994 represent a breakthrough in mobile telephony.
Photo: Jan Greve /SCANPIX
- International media describe the Winter Games at Lillehammer as "The Mobile Phone Olympics" – 25,000 mobile phones are in use.
- ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is introduced and the service is a huge success.
- Norwegian Telecom becomes a public corporation.
- Oslonett publishes its first online newspaper.
1993
Pannon is established in Budapest, Hungary in 1993.
Photo: Russel Monk/Masterfile/SCANPIX
- Norwegian Telecom declares the GSM-system officially opened.
- Pannon GSM is established to deliver mobile telephony in Hungary.
1992
Televerket buys the communications satellite THOR I.
Photo: Norwegian Telecom Museum
- Fibre optic cable connects Norway and Denmark.
- THOR I is purchased and moved to the 1ºWest position. It is established as a DTH TV operator and broadcasts a number of commercial channels, including CNN, Eurosport, Discovery and MTV.
- Norwegian Telecom develops international business in accordance with customer needs.
- The first Short Message Service (SMS) is sent on 3 December, via Vodafone’s GSM network in Great Britain and reads: Merry Christmas.
1990
The 1990s see a huge increase in the use of mobile telephones.
Photo: Studio MPM/Corbis/SCANPIX
- Standards for interconnecting the services are developed.
- Cooperation with international partners to create technical solutions such as satellite services, the NMT 450 (Nordic Mobile Telephone) and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) mobile systems.