5G is here: ‘Slow’ Trønders become the fastest of all Norwegians

“Amazing. The speed meter shows a download speed of more than one gigabyte per second. I guess that means my 4G phone is ready for the retirement home,” says Andreas Hodneland, while looking down at the phone screen slightly shocked.

Although 4G is far from outdated, the 5G speed test conducted in downtown Trondheim certainly gives the city native a new perspective on network speed. According to his girlfriend, Marte Ingvild Stordahl, a speed-up is just what their city needs.

“It’s a Norwegian saying that people from Trondheim and the county of Trøndelag, called Trønders, are a bit slow. It is just an innocent joke among Norwegians, but we like to take every opportunity to prove it wrong. I think 5G will turn the tables. In fact, now we are among the fastest in the nation, right?” says Marte.

While 5G undoubtedly will boost the mobile user experience for end users like Andreas and Marte, the technology will have its biggest impact across industries.

“The profound speed increase and latency decrease open up many new business opportunities. It will also enable massive improvement possibilities for existing solutions, which for instance can be of critical need for sectors working with traffic security or the health sector in general,” says Amundsen.

Witnessing how the coronavirus pandemic makes the workforce rely even heavier on connectivity, Norway’s Minister of Regional Development and Digitalisation, Linda Hofstad Helleland, is pleased that the continuous evolution of technology keeps providing societies with faster and more reliable networks.

“Given the current situation in Norway, we see how important the digital infrastructure is for those quarantined and those working from home. The new 5G network will provide better mobile coverage and gradually better access to broadband across the country, which will reduce the vulnerability of an increasingly digitised society,” says Helleland.

Sigve Brekke, President and CEO of Telenor Group, says the company is proud to be the first mobile operator to launch a commercial 5G network in Norway.

“We have worked tirelessly to stay in the forefront of the 5G development. By bringing Norway into a new technological age, today’s opening marks another milestone in Telenor’s 165-year-long-history,” stated Brekke on the day of the historic event, adding that Telenor is very much looking forward to continuing the roll out of 5G to customers.

Many of them will see their nearest base station receive 5G upgrades within the next year.

“During 2021, we will upgrade close to 2000 base stations, while a total of 8500 base stations will be upgraded within the next four to five years,” says Petter-Børre Furberg, CEO of Telenor Norway.

Before the end of 2020, Telenor will open its 5G network in Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, and Sandnes.