The cloud meets fibre optic broadband

Press release
Fornebu
4 minute read
Increased use of cloud services by Norwegian businesses has created a need for increased capacity in the data network. Telenor is responding to this trend with a NOK 4 billion investment in fibre optic broadband for businesses.
Telenor spends over NOK 4 billion per year upgrading and modernising the telephone, TV, and data networks in Norway. Much of the investment goes into the comprehensive expansion of the fibre optic broadband network for the business market.

“The need for higher bandwidth in Norwegian businesses is rising. We are currently experiencing a trend where services that were previously on local servers at each individual company are now moving to the Internet as cloud-based services. In addition, the use of video services in businesses is also increasing, both for live use and for training,” says Bjørn Ivar Moen, business market manager at Telenor.

“The opportunities for savings through the use of cloud-based services are substantial, but services such as email, document storage and sharing, and accounting software require a stable and secure Internet connection with high capacity. We have therefore set in motion a vigorous investment programme into fibre optic broadband for the business market, both in terms of Internet access and virtual private networks (VPNs). With fibre optic broadband, we will ensure companies are ready for tomorrow's digital solutions,” says Moen.

Simple model


Telenor has been building fibre optic infrastructure for the business market for many years. The model, now being used as a basis by the company for its proactive initiatives, will make fibre optic services more accessible to the nation's businesses, including small and medium sized companies. The prerequisite is that there must be a minimum customer potential in an area for the company to start expansion.

“When a customer contacts us wanting a fibre optic connection, we check the company's location and proximity to other companies. All companies in urban areas with a certain concentration of businesses will be able to receive fibre optic broadband from Telenor,” says Moen.

Modernising the copper network


Even though Telenor is now investing heavily in fibre optic, DSL broadband over the copper network will still be the technology that offers the best coverage across Norway for a long time to come. Therefore, Telenor will in parallel with the fibre optic expansion also be upgrading the copper network in several places.

“In areas where we have broadband on several different technologies, we will consider replacing the copper network with faster technology. A course of modernisation such as this will take place over many years, and no services of solutions will be removed before we are able to offer something that is at least as good. We will then help customers to move to new solutions, and we will notify customers well in advance within the applicable notice periods and existing agreement terms,” reassures Moen.

For further information, please contact:

Telenor's PR Manager, Kristin V. Tønnessen, Tel. 934 80 648, kvt@telenor.com