Introduction

The Norwegian telecommunications market

Introduction

The Norwegian telecommunications market is one of the most well-developed in Europe. Out of Norway's 4.5 million inhabitants, approximately 3 million people use fixed phone lines and 3 million have mobile phones. Almost 90% of Norway's inhabitants have access to the internet in some form or other.

Telenor is the leading Norwegian telecommunications provider in terms of market share. It has existed for over 150 years, and provides extensive broadband coverage and TV distribution (Canal Digital) throughout the whole of Norway. Within the fixed telephony market, Telenor provides both analogue and digital services.

Overseas phone calls in Norway can be rather expensive, but fixed line calls within the country are relatively cheap. There are also special off-peak rates which are available between 5pm and 8am. Telephone bills are issued every three months.

Phone numbers in Norway

The country code in Norway is +47. All private numbers in Norway have 8 digits, and the first two digits indicate the location of the telephone. For example, to call a number in Oslo, you would dial 0047 + 22 (the regional code) + telephone number.

The emergency numbers in Norway are:

110 – Fire services

112 – Police services

113 – Ambulance services

Support and helpline phone numbers in Norway have 4 or 5 digits, and non-geographical numbers (toll-free, voicemail etc.) usually begin with 8.

Phone book enquiries

There are many phone books in Norway, which are the equivalent to the White and Yellow pages that you'll know from your home country.

The Norwegian equivalent of the White pages is the Telefonkatalogen . The Yellow pages  website includes a search engine option, which is accessed by searching for names, telephone numbers and maps of the regions in Norway. You should type the name or telephone number and then click the Søk (search) button.

Internet in Norway

Internet connections are available in most areas of Norway, and broadband facilities are available in the main populated areas of the south. Wireless internet facilities also exist, but in some areas can be unreliable and intermittent. Besides Telenor, there are many alternative internet service providers to choose from.

In the larger cities you will find many internet cafés that will provide free wi-fi for anyone with a laptop. Smaller cities in Norway may only have a couple of internet cafés, but there is also the option of going to the public libraries. These tend to be open during the week and offer 15 – 30 minutes of free internet for visitors.

Further reading

Does this article help?

Do you have any comments, updates or questions on this topic? Ask them here: