Norway

Geographic Region (ITU/UN)

ISO 3166 Code

NO

M49 Code

578

MCC

242

ITU Member

Yes

ITU-R Region

Overview

Norway (Norge) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a sovereign state and unitary monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula plus the remote island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard. The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are also dependent territories.

Regulatory Environment

Norway is a member of the ITU and as such follows radio frequency harmonisation principles according to ITU-R Region-1. The regulatory body governing communications policy is the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and the Norwegian Communications Authority is charged with regulating the country's radio frequency spectrum activities such as planning, allocations, and licencing.

Norwegian 5G

Norway's spectrum regulator Nkom released its Spectrum Roadmap in February 2019 containing its strategic plan for the frequency bands identified for mobile communications in Norway.

The roadmap states that in the coming years, large spectrum resources will become available and awarded in Norway. The established frequency bands for mobile communication accounts for approximately 550 MHz of spectrum. By 2023, additional frequency bands, such as the 700 MHz, 1500 MHz (SDL2), 2300 MHz and 3400-3800 MHz bands, which in total amounts to over 650 MHz of spectrum, will become available. When including the 26 GHz frequency band, at least another 1000 MHz is anticipated made available for mobile communication in the coming years.

Nkom has formulated its approach to be harmonious with the European Union's Strategic Roadmap Towards 5G for Europe, which identified and recommended the following pioneer bands for 5G:

  • 700 MHz (3GPP bands 28 and 67)
  • 3400 to 3800 MHz (3GPP bands 42, 43 and n78)
  • 24.25 to 27.5 GHz (3GPP band n258)

National Mobile Network Operators

There are 2 mobile network operators servicing this region.

3G: Active
4G: Active
5G: Active
5G Bands: n78 (3500 MHz)
IoT: Active
IoT Technology: NB-IoT (LTE Cat-NB1)
3G: Deactivated
4G: Active
5G: Active
5G Bands: n28 (700 MHz)
IoT: Active
IoT Technology: NB-IoT (LTE Cat-NB1)