Thirteen months ago Norway did not have the fastest mobile internet speeds in the world. In fact, with an average download speed of 31.09 Mbps, the country ranked only 11th globally for mobile speeds in August 2016. By September 2016, however, the country’s average download speed had jumped 41% to 43.73 Mbps which ranked Norway #1 in the world for mobile download speed. This has continued to increase over the last year to 52.59 Mbps in July 2017 and Norway has maintained that first place ranking with a significant lead.

That’s an impressive 69% year-over-year gain for download speeds, and it begs the question: what caused the increase?

Telenor leads the way

On September 4, 2016, Telenor removed a cap on mobile speeds. According to Telenor’s Head of Mobile, Bjørn Ivar Moen, Telenor originally had rate limits on some plans to allow customers to choose from a range of subscription options.

Ultimately, though, Moen says “We knew we had the best and fastest mobile network in Norway and felt it was wrong not to give this advantage to our customers. We also felt comfortable that the network would handle max speed to all our customers due to the job done on capacity and coverage in the network all over Norway.”

The graph below shows that Norway’s sudden climb to #1 on the Speedtest Global Index is directly related to that jump in Telenor’s mobile speeds.

And customers are happy. According to Moen, customers reported that the ability “to use the network with real 4G+ speed and coverage was really felt as a difference in their daily use.” Moen also said Telenor has seen no negative effects from uncapping these speeds.

What about other mobile carriers?

Being the fastest country in the world requires more than just one fast carrier. Though Telenor has offered the fastest mobile speeds in Norway ever since, second place Telia also increased their speeds significantly in 2016. Looking at download speeds on all devices, Telia’s mobile speed increased 42% from 33.34 Mbps in October 2016 to 47.24 Mbps in December 2016.

The fast mobile speeds that Telenor and Telia are achieving are especially impressive considering the mountains and fjords of Norway, geographical challenges that carriers in other countries don’t necessarily have to face.

Broader benefits of fast speeds

The work these two carriers did to put Norway in first place in the world for mobile speeds for the last year benefits not just their customers but the country as a whole.

Having the fastest mobile speeds in the world creates a favorable climate for new digital solutions in all areas of society — from health care and transportation to entertainment services. We can’t wait to see what innovations develop as a result and how other carriers and markets follow suit.

Are there other stories like this?

Yes! There are many interesting stories like this happening behind the scenes all the time in the telecom market. Our new site, Speedtest Global Index, can help pinpoint increases and drops in internet speeds that signal market shifts on a country level. Check it out today.