Telenor, Norway's leading telecom operator, has announced the closure of its copper network, and the last conversation over the outdated technology went to Telenor's CEO, Sigve Brekke.
Ruth Solveig Fragodt, 89, in Flesberg in Buskerud, was the last landline customer left on the copper network and took the final call in the copper network. She has now got a new home phone solution over the mobile network, and Sigve was able to assure her that her new phone over the mobile network is stable and better.
Brage Bjornbekk, 22, is another user who has experienced the consequences of Telenor's modernization. The place where he lives has no mobile coverage, but before Christmas 2022, he finally received fiber from Telenor in his house wall.
Both these customers received connectivity solutions, thus making it possible for Telenor Norway to shut down the outdated copper network.
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Replacement by Fiber and Mobile
Telenor notified authorities and its customers in 2019 about the closure of the copper network from the end of 2022, and it was primarily a customer-led decision.
Birgitte Engebretsen, CEO of Telenor Norway, explained the background of modernization as follows: "The copper network was in many places over 100 years old, and in its time was built to offer landlines, and eventually broadband. Eventually, the copper network was unable to meet the need for speed, stability and capacity as you as a customer expect. Customer churn, high power consumption, many faults and high maintenance costs meant that the decision to dismantle the copper network was made."
Engebretsen is happy that Telenor customers are now on much better services over 4G, 5G and fibre.
Clean-up and Savings
Telenor is in the process of cleaning up the copper line network that is no longer in use. However, as per the requirements, Telenor must maintain the line network and exchanges for customers in companies that leased into the copper network until the autumn of 2025. This closure of the copper network results in significant savings for Telenor in terms of maintenance and electricity. Engebretsen also assured of environmental considerations involved in the cleaning job.
Telenor Norway Ranked Fastest Mobile Network
Telenor's mobile network has been ranked Norway's fastest five years in a row as Ookla Speedtest has been awarded the telco Speedtest Award for another six months.
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5G Speeds in 2022
Telenor topped Norway's fastest mobile network speeds on both 4G and 5G. For the second half of 2022, Telenor's 5G network has a Speed Score of 244.73 Mbps, 27 per cent faster than the nearest competitor. Telenor says that with more than 8,500 base stations, the telco has Norway's largest network and every base station has more capacity than any other mobile operator in Norway. Telenor is also awarded Best Mobile network by winning in two categories - Noway's fastest mobile network and Norway's best mobile coverage.
Spectrum
Telenor has its 5G Network built with 3600 MHz and 2600 MHz for 4G, the frequencies necessary for user experience related to capacity and speed on 5G and 4G. Telenor also said it had introduced double routing to make its network even more robust, reducing the risk of mobile outages.
