Telenor to introduce faster mobile services

"The upgrade has now reached a stage where we feel that we can give our customers a sample of what the coming 3G services have to offer. Customers will find that it will be quicker to use their mobiles for other than just talking and sending text messages. Our ambition is to upgrade the entire GSM network with EDGE by the end of 2005," said Executive Vice President in Telenor, Morten Karlsen Sørby.

Today, the GSM network is fully or partly upgraded in Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen, Tromsø, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Mo i Rana, Stjørdal, Malvik, Fredrikstad and Sarpsborg. In the near future, all of Norway's 35 largest cities and towns will have EDGE access. An updated coverage map will soon be available on Telenor Mobil's Internet site, telenormobil.no.

EDGE is a technical upgrade of the existing GSM network. For most people, this means that current services will be faster, but new and exciting services will also be introduced. Business customers will find that it will now be simpler and faster to work outside the office.

"Telenor is dedicated to contributing towards the development and uptake of new mobile services. The extensive use of MMS in Norway shows that the Norwegian market is ready for even more advanced services. The EDGE upgrade is an important step in this process, and should be seen in connection with our launch of the new mobile network, UMTS, later this year," Sørby said.

All Telenor Mobil customers will have access to EDGE as long as they own a handset that supports the standard, and as long as they are inside an area where the GSM network has been upgraded. The customers do not need to take any further action to gain access, and there will be no extra charge.

For more information, please contact:

Head of Information, Telenor Norway, Esben Tuman Johnsen, Tel: +47 905 08 400

Facts about EDGE:

EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) is a technology that increases capacity, enhances quality and allows for use of advanced services through the existing GSM network. EDGE is an upgrading of the current system for transfer of data through the GSM network, called GPRS (General Packet Radio Services). EDGE transmission speeds are far superior to those available with the GPRS technology, and if the conditions are perfect, transmission speeds may be as high as between 100 and 200 kbit/s.