# Speedtest® Market Report

### Nordic Countries

#### Published October 19, 2016

The Nordic region is arguably the most internet-connected region in the world. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland rank second, sixth, twelfth and sixteenth globally in terms of number of broadband subscriptions per capita and fifth, tenth, third, and second globally for mobile broadband subscriptions per capita.

Speedtest data shows the Nordic countries are among the world’s fastest as well. Denmark has the thirteenth fastest average broadband download speed in the world and tenth fastest mobile download speed for modern devices. Finland has the slowest speeds in the region, ranking thirty-sixth in the world for broadband and twenty-fourth for mobile. Norway comes in at twenty-second globally for broadband and seventh for mobile (fastest in the region). Ranking tenth in the world for average download speed on broadband, Sweden is the fastest Nordic country, but they only rank twenty-second in the world for mobile.

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### Nordic Fixed Broadband Speeds

### Nordic Mobile Speeds

The telecommunications industry in the region is very stable. It benefits from a highly competitive market and continues to see the emergence of new competitors. Telecommunications companies have come under pressure with increased data demands and a downward pricing trend. As a result, companies have increasingly favored consolidation. However, European Union (EU) regulators evaluate mergers with great scrutiny due to antitrust concerns. The European Commission (EC), the executive in charge of and responsible for promoting EU interests, most recently denied a merger between Norway’s Telenor and Sweden’s Telia. The rejection came largely in part because both companies command a large portion of the telecommunications market in various countries. Although Norway is not an EC member state, it is synchronized with EC legislation.

Meanwhile, EU regulators are seeking to create greater connectivity across the European continent and eradicate roaming charges. The EC has set policy goals such as achieving 5G for all urban areas by 2025. In some cases, the Nordic region has already surpassed the EC’s speed and access guidelines. Finland’s Elisa, in cooperation with Huawei, recently made a world record for 4G speeds hitting 1.9 Gbps in a network test under lab conditions.

One of the most pronounced trends across the region is the bundling of services as more and more TV content is being delivered over the internet. This is particularly due to a greater demand for streaming TV and online video gaming. Norway has the world’s highest annual revenues for subscription video on demand, followed by the USA, Finland and Sweden. To keep up with higher bandwidth requirements, expansion of fiber is increasingly important.

## Denmark

As a smaller country with a population of 5.7 million, Denmark nevertheless has 42.4 fixed broadband subscriptions for every 100 residents. Ranked second in the globe, the country has beat out other internet usage powerhouses like Korea and Iceland in per capita subscriptions for the past ten years. Denmark’s largest internet service providers (ISPs) are TDC and TDC’s subsidiary for residential service, YouSee, which collectively serve about half the population.

Denmark saw a 31% increase in average fixed broadband download speed between Q3 2015 and Q3 2016. Since January 2016, average download speed in Denmark increased about 10 Mbps, and the country broke the 60 Mbps barrier, jumping to an average of 64.54 Mbps. Average upload speed also increased steadily at 43% year-over-year. Average upload speed at the end of Q3 2016 hit a record high of 46.08 Mbps.

Denmark has the eighth highest fiber penetration in the world, with 10 fiber subscriptions per 100 people, and fiber subscriptions grew 11.5% in the last year. Competition by utility companies has pushed YouSee, as well as other ISPs, to invest heavily in fiber optic networks. A number of communities have also supplemented YouSee’s efforts to build out fiber.

The Danish market has the third highest smartphone penetration in the world and is nearing saturation. The market is dominated by TDC (42.7%), Telenor (25%), Telia (18.9%) and 3 Scandinavia (13.3%). This saturation previously led to increased downward pressure on pricing and slowed investment in modern networks like 4G LTE.

Average mobile download speed for modern devices (those capable of achieving 4G LTE speeds) was up by 19.6% for Q3 2016 over Q2 2015 at 33.49 Mbps in comparison to 27.99 Mbps. The speed increase was by no means steady. Over the past year, TDC led the way by increasing average downloads speed by 30.9%. Telenor and Telia, who share the same network under TT Network P/S, followed with a speed increase of 18.1% and 12.3%, respectively. 3 Scandinavia saw hardly any increase at all at 2.5%. Telenor’s increase has resulted in quite an improvement as it now ranks only a few decimal points behind Telia in speed. Upload speed saw a 13.5% year-over-year increase from 13.73 Mbps to 15.59 Mbps.

### Denmark Fastest ISPs

### Download

#### FASTEST: Hiper

Hiper is a new ISP and the fastest for high-speed internet in Denmark. Though a smaller provider, the company seeks to fill a gap in the market for cheap internet aimed at consumers who stream a majority of their content. Hiper is a whopping 80% faster than its closest competitor, with speeds in some regions nearing 1 gigabit.

### Upload

#### FASTEST: Hiper

Hiper also holds the spot for fastest upload speed. Unusually, Hiper’s average upload speed is about 58 Mbps faster than its download speed. The company offers both cable and fiber at speeds of 100 Mbps and 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps), respectively.

Denmark’s top three fastest ISPs are Hiper, YouSee, and Stofa. Speedtest data on top 10% download performance reveals that Hiper, a new ISP, leads results in top-tier speeds. It is also one of the few companies with an upload speed that rivals its download speed. With a download speed of 582.70 Mbps and an upload speed of 641.05 for Q2-Q3 2016, the company leads its closest competitor, YouSee, by an astounding 469.12 Mpbs in download speed and 540.97 Mpbs in upload speed. This means Hiper is over 80% faster. Hiper seeks to advance broadband speed to meet the streaming generation’s ever-increasing demand for fast and cheap internet broadband. In some areas, Hiper is extremely close to reaching gigabit speed capacity. For example, the top 10% of download results in the northern Danish town of Frederikssund reached 880.66 Mbps.

EnergiMidt, another fiber provider, is climbing in ranks after announcing a merger with electrical utility HEF in late June, under the name Eniig. In the first seven months of 2016, prior to and shortly after the merger, the company saw hardly 1 or 2 Mbps of change in download speed from month to month. However, both download and upload speeds shot up in August by 12 to 13 Mbps, respectively. The company took fourth place in download speed for Q2-Q3 2016, behind YouSee and Stofa who had download speeds of 113.58 Mbps and 105.80 Mbps, respectively. Energimidt came second in upload speed with 100.08 Mbps, topped only by Hiper.

Fiber to the home (FTTH) is widely recognized as the optimal method for providing high-speed broadband, because it allows users to stream large amounts of data quickly. According to an OECD report, 23.6% of Denmark’s total broadband was fiber connections as of December 2015. Most recently, Stofa announced that it would expand its fiber grid to the small towns of Roager and Spandet. This development, especially to more rural towns with less access to traditional broadband, is important as subscribers stream more content from their TVs. As a result, we will continue to see this segment of the broadband market increase.

### Denmark Fastest Mobile

### Download

#### FASTEST: TDC

TDC has dominated the mobile market with consistent top speeds. Although TDC is present in Finland, Norway and Sweden, its largest market is Denmark. TDC offers 280,000 km of fiber, copper cables and cable TV in Denmark. YouSee, a subsidiary of TDC and the largest cable operator, provides mobile, broadband and TV, offering from 2 to 500 GB of data at speeds of 17 Mpbs to 71 Mbps.

### Upload

#### FASTEST: TDC

TDC also has the fastest upload speed for modern mobile devices. However, it is about 51% slower than download speed. TDC offers upload speeds for mobile devices from 5 Mbps to 43 Mbps. Last year, TDC transmitted 6.1 billion GB of data in Denmark.

According to the GSM Association (GSMA), 98% of Denmark’s population has a 4G LTE connection. TDC, which owns about 50% of the mobile phone market, leads in top mobile speeds. In Q2-Q3 2016, TDC led the top four providers with an average download speed of 45.34 Mbps and an average upload speed of 22.29 Mbps. For average download speed, Telia and Telenor come in second and third, respectively at 29.75 Mbps and 29.11 Mbps. Telia and Telenor’s shared 4G network likely explains the lack of differentiation between their speeds. 3 Scandinavia comes in fourth with an average download speed of 20.70 Mbps. For upload speed, Telia takes second place with an average speed of 11.83 Mbps with Telenor and 3 Scandinavia close behind at 11.66 Mbps and 8.60 Mbps, respectively.

At the end of last year, TDC appeared to be slipping in the rankings when they came in third for a few months. However, this year they are back in the lead. Well over one hundred localities in Denmark received speeds of over 100 Mbps from TDC in Q2-Q3 2016. TDC places a greater emphasis on download speed, which is 51% faster than upload. Year-over-year, TDC has also had the greatest performance improvement in download speed at 27%. The smallest improvement in top-tier speed came from 3 Scandinavia, whose average download speed only increased 7% in the same time period.

## Finland

Finland has a population of 5.5 million, making it the third most populous Nordic country. According to an OECD report, it ranks 27th in total fixed and wireless subscriptions by country. Unlike its Nordic neighbors, Finland does not rank in the top 5 for fixed broadband penetration. Regardless, the country has a high level of fixed broadband subscriptions at 31.6 per 100 people. The Finnish ISP market is dominated by Elisa, (Telia)Sonera, and DNA.

Finland is the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right for every citizen. The government set a goal to guarantee 100 Mbps within 2 kilometers of all Finns. Currently, over half of all households have access to infrastructure which enables average download speeds of 100 Mbps or higher. Although the Finnish government is seeking to provide equal access to all, only 31% of the population is actually subscribed to this fast broadband.

Sonera is the most dominant DSL provider, which is currently the country’s most prevalent source for broadband. However, the DSL subscriber base has shrunk in recent years as consumers shift towards fiber, presumably in search of faster connections. Sonera has been testing a fixed broadband technology developed by Nokia Bell Labs, which allows existing copper cables to deliver speeds up to 10 Gbps. If implemented, this technology would greatly increase top speeds, save on installation time and cut down costs. Just last year, Finland committed US$7.7 million (€7 million) in funding to develop broadband in rural areas, where 15.9% of the population resides.

Average fixed broadband download speed has gotten 21% faster in the last year from 29.11 Mbps in Q2-Q3 2015 to 35.45 Mbps in Q2-Q3 2016. Average upload speed has increased 33% in the same time period from 11.56 Mbps in Q2-Q3 2015 to 15.38 Mbps in Q2-Q3 2016. Both average download and upload speeds are noticeably slower than other Nordic nations.

Like most modern countries, mobile is the most popular way to connect to the internet in Finland. Trailing only Japan, Finland has the second highest mobile penetration in the world at 133.11%. Ninety-five percent of the population has 4G coverage. Finns also use the most data globally, 5 GB per SIM per month in 2015, likely because 47% of SIMs have unlimited data. On Elisa networks, user data consumption averages a staggering 12 GB per month.

Elisa continues to seek new ways of innovating. Recently, Elisa agreed to purchase Anvia’s consumer business for $118 million (€107 million) as of July 2016 (Telia and DNA also made bids). Elisa will also bundle its video content with Anvia broadband, part of an announcement that the company will be the first operator in Finland to bring in Wi-Fi calling for homes where indoor mobile reception is affected.

### Finland Fastest ISPs

### Download

#### FASTEST: DNA

DNA is the fastest provider of high-speed internet downloads in Finland. The ISP is 43% faster than its closest competitor, Sonera. DNA provides mobile broadband, fixed broadband and TV services. Like many Finnish ISPs, the company offers unlimited data. In August 2016, the ISP handled about 27,000 terabytes of data for fixed broadband.

### Upload

#### FASTEST: (Telia)Sonera

Sonera has the fastest average upload speed of Finnish ISPs. The ISP owns about 30% of copper-based and voice subscriber lines in Finland, totaling up to about 500,000 connections. Sonera has been making investments in strengthening existing copper cables in an effort to expand data capacity and speed.

According to Speedtest top 10% data, Finland’s top ISPs (those with 3% or more of total test results) saw download speed grow by only 14% year-over-year from 76.74 Mbps in Q2-Q3 2015 to 87.72 Mbps in Q2-Q3 2016. Although Finland’s government set the 100 Mbps benchmark to be reached by 2015, none of the top providers—DNA, Sonera, or Elisa—reached a speed of 100 Mbps in Q2-Q3 2016. DNA offers the fastest download speed in Finland, reaching an average of 96.38 Mbps in Q2-Q3 2016, but that’s only a 2.7% increase over last year. Sonera has the fastest average upload speed at 41.44 Mbps in the same period, an increase of 40.7% from last year.

Regional providers scored well in the top 10% of high-speed broadband results. In September 2016, Anvia, which has a strong presence in Western Finland, was providing an upload speed of approximately 213 Mbps. In Southwest Finland, Lunea provided a download speed of about 95 Mbps. LPOnet, the regional provider for Uusima, had the highest speed in the top 10%, with downloads at 144.41 Mbps. As the most populated region, Uusima has unsurprisingly been the recipient of better fixed broadband coverage.

### Finland Fastest Mobile

### Download

#### FASTEST: (Telia)Sonera

Sonera is the largest operator in Finland and provides the fastest average download speed. The provider’s top-tier speed for mobile increased only 7% from Q2-Q3 2015 to Q2-Q3 2016. Sonera recently completed a test using low latency 5G technology where a speed of over 4.5 Gbps were achieved. The company is pushing to make commercial 5G services available as soon as possible.

### Upload

#### FASTEST: DNA

DNA has the fastest average upload speed among top-tier providers. For subscriptions to mobile broadband, DNA offers speeds on its 4G network ranging from 10 Mbps to 150 Mbps. Traffic volumes on DNA’s 4G network are growing fast and the 4G network transmits more than 70% of all their data.

Mobile speeds in Finland have remained relatively steady year-over-year with a slight increase in average download speed from 26.32 Mbps in Q2-Q3 2015 to 27.30 Mbps in Q2-Q3 2016. It’s been a close battle between Sonera and DNA for fastest carrier over the last year. Sonera slightly edged DNA out with an average download speed of 29.57 Mbps followed by DNA at 28.00 Mbps and Elisa at 25.17 Mbps. Although DNA came in second for average download speed, it came in first for upload speed at 13.94 Mbps. This summer, DNA reached a turning point when customers transmitted more data through mobile than fixed broadband.

5G connectivity may come sooner than expected in Finland. Just this month, Elisa achieved a world record for its 4G download speed. In cooperation with Huawei, the company reached 1.9 Gbps in a lab test. The company plans to roll out 1 Gpbs commercially in the next year or two. Sonera is also working on next generation communications with Finnish vendor Nokia. With Internet of Things and virtual reality developments likely comes increased mobile traffic. Sonera’s goal is to accelerate their network evolution to 5G. In August, they undertook 5G mobile trials to deliver speed of over 4.5 Gbps. As companies progress towards 5G speed, cooperation and bundling of technologies becomes more prevalent.

## Norway

Aside from Iceland, Norway is the only Nordic country that is not part of the EU. It has the smallest population at 5.1 million people and has 31.88 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people. Similar to other Nordic countries, Norway’s internet and telecommunications markets are mature. This has resulted in a push toward providing faster services for consumers. Along with Sweden, Norway is leading Western Europe’s fiber network developments. Last year, the country saw a 17% annual growth in fiber subscriptions. Fiber subscriptions have surpassed cable subscriptions and are about equal with DSL subscriptions.

Telenor is the dominant provider for fixed broadband subscriptions. As of 2015, Telenor had 42.3% of the residential market, followed by Get (16.9%), NextGen Tel (7.5%), Viken Fiber (5.7%), and Lyse (3.5%), which offers Altibox. Telenor is pursuing an aggressive development plan. In June 2015, the company launched a satellite called Thor 7 to help provide growth for broadcasting and TV services. Norway is one of the only Nordic countries to provide satellite services. In January, the company announced it will be upgrading Norwegian broadband. The company is laying out more fiber to benefit residential areas and businesses. Indeed, Telenor’s average download speed increased 61% from January to September.

Norway’s average fixed broadband download speed increased 23.9% between Q2-Q3 2015 (40.75 Mbps) and Q2-Q3 2016 (50.51 Mbps) and average upload speed increased 25.3% year-over-year.

According to the OECD, Norway ranks 10th globally in mobile penetration at 99.3%. Eighty-four percent of the population has 4G coverage. Average download speed for mobile modern devices increased 45% year-over-year, from 24.68 Mbps in Q2-Q3 2015 to 35.84 Mbps in 2016. Upload speed increased 39% in the same period from 8.70 Mbps to 12.13 Mbps.

Telenor and Telia are the largest carriers with 50.9% and 38% market share, respectively. Telia nearly doubled its market share last year after acquiring Tele2’s Norwegian operations. In March 2016, Telia also rebranded its local division Netcom to Telia. Telenor activated 4G++ in over 50 municipalities during the first quarter of 2016. It is also expanding its network by combining three frequencies on bands 800 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2600 MHz.

### Norway Fastest ISPs

### Download

#### FASTEST: Altibox

Altibox, a product offered by Lyse, achieved the fastest download speed in Norway. The ISP started out as an energy provider and is now the largest FTTH provider in Norway. They also have mobile and TV offer bundles. In 2014, Altibox had a new customer every 12 minutes, with growth especially concentrated in Western and Eastern Norway.

### Upload

#### FASTEST: Altibox

Altibox also had the highest upload speed, which have grown quite steadily for an overall improvement of 47% since last year. Fiber deployments can be expensive, but Lyse has adopted an innovative business model of allowing customers to dig their own ditches to defray costs. The company currently offers speeds of 40 Mbps to 1000 Mbps. As more fiber gets put in the ground, Lyse is able to offer even higher speeds.

Looking at the top 10% of Speedtest results, Altibox (Lyse) leads download speed for Q2-Q3 2016 at 157.05 Mbps. Get is right behind at 151.37 Mbps. Although downloads speeds are typically fastest, Altibox has a remarkably similar average upload speed of 151.97 Mbps. Get’s speeds, on the other hand, are not as symmetrical; the company ranks fourth in average upload speed at only 29.54 Mbps. HomeNet comes in second for top-tier upload speed at 92.98 Mbps.

Altibox is Norway’s largest FTTH supplier and has actually increased its average download speed by 53% year-over-year. In Q2-Q3, latency was only 2 ms. The company offers faster speed at the same price point. Starting in 2009, Altibox even let customers save about 400 dollars by digging their own fiber trenches. Four out of five customers have opted to do so.

Norway already has nationwide DSL coverage which is dominated by incumbent companies, as is cable. However, DSL subscriptions have fallen since 2007 while other technologies continue to grow. Competition is coming from young or regional companies and Norway currently has more than 100 local fiber providers. The plan for the future appears to be defending existing cables by making them faster and bringing FTTH to more homes, especially in areas that are not serviced by high-speed DSL. For example, Telia Norway has signed a deal with Broadnet, a company that connects 90 towns with a 40,000-kilometer fiber grid, to lease fiber in an effort to obtain faster speeds.

### Norway Fastest Mobile

### Download

#### FASTEST: Telia

Telia was Norway’s top provider for download speed in Q2-Q3 2016. The Telia Company has consistently grown its footprint across the Nordic region, offering packages of data from 7 to 200 GB. Packages of 50, 100, and 200 offer speeds expected to be about 100 Mbps for downloads and uploads.

### Upload

#### FASTEST: Telia

Telia barely squeaked by as fastest provider for upload speed in Norway in Q2-Q3 2016, with an advantage of only .12 Mbps over rival Telenor. Telia recently launched VoLTE, which allows carriers to transmit voice services in the same way they transmit data. The company offers data from 1 to 80 GB and download speeds of 6 to 300 Mbps.

The incumbents, Telenor and Telia, dominate top-tier speeds for modern mobile devices. Telia was the fastest carrier with an average download speed of 37.49 Mbps for Q2-Q3 2016. This is a 30% increase over the previous year. Telia’s average download speeds were consistently 5-10 Mbps faster than Telenor’s over the past year. Average upload speeds for Q2-Q3 2016 were nearly identical between Telia and Telenor at 12.27 Mbps and 12.15 Mbps, respectively.

As of September 2016, both Telia and Telenor have apparently removed speed caps on their mobile service plans, and consumers are starting to see the benefits. For example, in September, Telenor’s average download speed increased by 38% compared to their overall Q2-Q3 2016 results. While our analyses typically reference at least 6 months of performance data, we wanted to include this development because it happened in a market where speed limits for mobile plans have historically been the norm. We will be keeping a very close eye on performance in the Norwegian market over the coming months to fully assess the long-term impact.

As of January this year, Telenor launched Voice over LTE (VoLTE) at no extra charge. VoLTE is a new development that uses existing LTE infrastructure to transmit voice calls as well as data. Phone and video calls get routed through the network instead of legacy 2G and 3G connections. The result is shorter connection times, improved voice quality and better indoor connections.

The trend toward adopting VoLTE and G fast technologies is expected to quicken the demise of 2G and 3G networks. Although this depends on each carrier, Telenor and Telia are looking to end their 2G and 3G networks by 2020 and 2025 in an effort to focus on LTE and 5G technologies. Telenor and NextGenTel have also trialed G fast technologies and seek to launch commercial services by the end of 2016.

## Sweden

Sweden is the largest Nordic country with a population of 9.7 million people. The country has a very high broadband penetration rate with 35.4 broadband subscriptions per 100 people and strong fixed broadband coverage, even in rural areas. Unlike most of Western Europe, Sweden has a very well developed fiber network. Fiber accounts for a larger number of subscribers than DSL or cable and almost half of all fixed broadband subscriptions are fiber. Only Japan, Korea and Latvia have a higher percentage of fiber subscriptions.

The Swedish government has allocated $463 million (SEK 4.1 billion) to further develop high speed broadband in rural areas underserved by commercial rollout of broadband. The country currently has over 1,000 broadband networks in rural areas, primarily in the South, and has seen a drastic increase in community-owned fiber networks.

In Q2-Q3 2016, average fixed broadband download speeds were 69.42 Mbps, a 24% increase year-over-year. Com Hem was the only company to reach an average of over 100 Mbps, at 106.75 Mbps.

Mobile is Sweden’s greatest strength with 120.8 mobile subscriptions for every 100 inhabitants. The mobile sector has seen significant upgrades that provide a large number of subscribers with fast mobile broadband. With more data usage, providers have also been turning to spectrum, a radio frequency that transmits wireless signals, to handle higher capacities. The 700 MHz band is currently used for television, however the government has committed it to mobile broadband starting in April 2017. An auction for both the 700 MHz band and 1800 MHz is expected to happen this December.

The three main mobile phone companies in Sweden are Telia, TeleNord and Tele2. Tele2 recently acquired TDC Sweden (owned by Denmark’s TDC Group) for $342.6 million (€311 million) to strengthen its position in the B2B market. Tele2 received approval for the TDC Sweden acquisition from the EC in October 2016.

Average mobile speeds have been with an overall growth of 36% from 20.14 in Q2-Q3 2015 to 27.53 in Q2-Q3 2016.

### Sweden Fastest ISPs

### Download

#### FASTEST: Com Hem

Com Hem was Sweden’s fastest provider of high-speed downloads and offers plans from 50 MB to 1 GB. Com Hem is also expanding into the TV market and recently acquired Boxer TV-Access AB for approximately $150 million.

### Upload

#### FASTEST: Bredband 2

Bredband2 had the highest upload speed, although Bahnof also deserves mention, behind by .35 Mbps. Bredband2 is the third largest provider in Sweden based on fiber optic technology. They have over 185,000 customers and provide plans up to 10 GB.

As part of ICT for Everyone - A Digital Agenda for Sweden, the Swedish government has set a goal that 90% of all homes and businesses have access to broadband speeds of 100 Mbps by 2020, five years later than Finland’s self-imposed goal. At the end of last year, 67% did. The expansion of fiber optic networks sets the groundwork for Sweden’s capacity to handle more data. Last year, fiber subscription growth was higher than any other Nordic country at 19%.

Telenor expanded its fiber presence in 2013 by paying $97 million (€88 million) for Tele2’s fiber and cable business, which strengthened its position as a leading provider of fixed broadband and Telenor gained 370,000 customers through the deal. Telenor provides broadband over mobile routers and the company also has a traditional broadband provider, Bredbandsbolaget, that is one of Sweden’s largest internet providers.

For Q2-Q3 2016, the top 10% of Speedtest results showed an average download speed of 113.01 Mbps. Eight out of nine top providers achieved 90th percentile speeds of over 100 Mbps. Com Hem topped the list at a speed of 250.16 Mbps. Meanwhile, Tele2 was the only top provider that didn’t reach 100 Mbps. Top-tier download speeds increased 13% year-over-year, which was quite a feat considering they were already quite high.

Bredband2 and Bahnhof were neck and neck for top upload speed at 107.53 Mbps and 107.20 Mbps, respectively, with Bredbandsbolaget and Telenor coming in a close third and fourth at 104.14 Mbps and 103.28 Mbps, respectively.

The purchase of Tele2’s fiber appears to be aiding Telenor’s internet provider Bredbandsbolaget, which holds the spot for second fastest average download speed and third for average upload speed.

### Sweden Fastest Mobile

### Download

#### FASTEST: Telia

Telia Sweden has the fastest download speed in the country. The company increased speed by 48% from Q2-Q3 2015 to Q2-Q3 2016. Telia offers data from 5 to 40 GB for mobile broadband.

### Upload

#### FASTEST: Telia

Telia also has the fastest average upload speed, although significantly lower than download speed. In line with EC legislation, the company is eradicating roaming charges for Denmark, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The average mobile download speed for modern devices in Q2-Q3 2016 was 27.49 Mbps. Telia led downloads with a speed of 31.08 Mbps. That being said, 3 Scandinavia is in serious competition for download speeds with less than a 1 Mbps difference. Tele2 and Telenor follow in third and fourth, respectively. Telia also has the fastest average upload speeds at 11.05 Mbps.

It appears Sweden is in competition with Finland to roll out 5G as soon as possible. Telia, in cooperation with Ericsson, has announced that Stockholm will be the first city globally to get mobile 5G in 2018. The ISP currently provides the fastest coverage for the Stockholm area. In Q2-Q3, Telia’s average top-tier speed for Stockholm was 48.49 Mbps. Telia was also the first company to launch commercial 4G in Sweden.

Other companies are looking to improve their networks and speeds as well with Tele2 recently taking out a $137 million (€125 million) loan from the European Investment Bank to expand its 4G network in Sweden and the Netherlands. Carriers are also doing other interesting things to try and win customers. Telenor recently inked a deal with Dubber to give customers the opportunity to record their calls and preserve them in the cloud. Meanwhile, Telia and 3 Scandinavia have donated SIM cards to Refugee Phone, a Swedish organization that disburses phones to refugees and migrants.

#### HOW SPEEDTEST MEASURES FIXED BROADBAND

ISPs offering fixed broadband services are ranked based on top speed performance, which is determined using the 90th percentile of the download and upload speeds, or Top 10%, of each ISP’s Speedtest results. While many ISPs offer various service tiers, our aim is to determine who is fastest by showing the performance achieved by each residential ISP’s top tier. These speeds represent customers who subscribe to faster service tiers and provide an accurate view of the top-end performance of a given ISP. It is important to note that customers subscribing to higher tiers will generally pay more for their service than the average subscriber. For purposes of this report, only Top Providers in a given location were included in the analysis. Each ISP that accounts for at least 3% of the total sample size in the geographic area are included as a Top Provider. When analyzing the Nordic countries overall, we use the average speed, as it represents the experience of a typical consumer in those countries. When comparing ISPs individually, we use top speed performance, as it represents the performance a consumer could reasonably expect to receive if they subscribe to one of the ISP’s higher tiers of service.

#### HOW SPEEDTEST MEASURES MOBILE CARRIERS

The top mobile carriers in the Nordic countries are ranked using the average download speed of “Modern Devices” - those devices that are capable of connecting to the fastest, broadly-available wireless networks. In the Nordic countries, this means devices capable of 4G LTE. This ensures we provide an accurate view of the typical performance a user can achieve using a modern smartphone or tablet on a given mobile network. Top carriers are those that each account for at least 3% of the sample size in the geographic area. When analyzing the country as a whole, we use the mean value of all cellular results to account for the typical user. However, when analyzing individual carriers, we look at “Modern Devices” to account for top speeds available in the Nordic countries.

## Market Summary

It is undeniable that the Nordic countries have some of the most advanced telecommunications markets in the world. Denmark is the world leader in fixed broadband penetration, while Norway and Sweden are in the top six globally. Meanwhile, Finland and Denmark are in the top three globally for mobile penetration. Though the region has fantastic coverage and speed for fixed broadband and mobile internet, it could also be argued that some of the countries, particularly Finland and Denmark, could be doing more to invest in fiber optic networks compared to other countries in the region.

For Q2-Q3 2016, Sweden had the fastest fixed broadband download speeds, followed by Denmark, Norway and Finland. Norway had the fastest download speeds for mobile, followed by Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. Although commercial 5G services are not expected to be generally available until 2020, the Nordic region appears to be set on making it happen much sooner. Both Finland and Sweden are seeking to roll out 5G within the next few years.

Overall, the Nordics are seeing steady increases in speeds. Incumbent broadband providers like Com Hem, DNA and TDC offer speeds that would be the envy of consumers in most countries. Meanwhile, new fiber companies like Hiper are introducing game-changing speeds to some pockets and challenging incumbents to invest even more in fiber and existing networks. On the mobile side, Telia largely swept the fiercely competitive Nordic region, with top download speeds in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The region is one to keep an eye on, with rivals such as Tele2, DNA and Telenor increasingly improving 4G speeds. One thing is for certain, the Nordic consumer is feeling the benefit.

This report was written by Sera Tajima.

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