Telenor’s 3G network in Norway to reach 90 per cent of customers this year

Global telecom service provider Telenor on Friday said it is intensifying its 3G expansion in Norway and is on course to offer 3G facilities to 90 per cent of it mobile telephone customers where they live. This will go up to 95 per cent with further expansion, the company said in a release.

In particular, Telenor is improving its 3G coverage in towns and cities and is building new 3G stations where there is currently only 2G. The company is also well on its way to expanding the next generation mobile network - 4G, it added.

"The Norwegian people's use of mobile phones has changed dramatically. Now more than 55 per cent of mobile phones in Telenor's network are smartphones, and by the end of 2012 we expect that figure to have increased to 70 per cent," said Berit Svendsen, managing director of Telenor Norway.

''Telenor's mobile network ensures high speeds and good capacity when people are surfing the net on their PC, tablet or mobile phone. Customers need to be sure that we offer the best coverage, quality and capacity, both now and in the future. That is why we are focusing on 3G expansion," he added.

Data traffic on mobile phones in Norway has increased by 20 per cent from the fourth quarter last year to the first quarter this year. If this growth continues, growth this year will amount to approximately 150 per cent, the company said.

"It is this development that is motivating us to expand mobile phone coverage in areas that currently do not have 3G coverage, and at the same time we are improving capacity where there already is coverage," said Svendsen.