The Government wants to curb Telenor’s dominance

TelenorTelenor headquarters.Photo: Norway Today media

When the Government henceforth hand out licenses in the mobile market, they want to curb the amount of frequencies each company can hedge.

Telenor has more than half of the mobile market, while competitor Telia has one third. Ice, an operator who is building a third nationwide network, currently has only 1.6 percent of the market.

Therefore, the two responded to the limit the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority have set for the upcoming auction on mobile frequencies.

The limit is currently set at 2×20 MHz in the 900 MHz band. Telia believe that such a high limit gives Telenor the opportunity to consolidate their dominance and ultimately weaken the competition permanently. Telenor naturally does not agree with that description.

Before summer, Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority will auction 2×20 MHz in the 900 MHz band. But in the next round of awards, the Government has now instructed that the maximum should be reduced to 2×15 MHz.

The 900 MHz band will be very important in the coming years, as it is well suited for simultaneous use of the three technologies 2G, 3G and 4G. Although new developments are using 4G, the older technologies are still being used.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today