The state of Norwegian mobile networks in 2024
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The Center for Resilient Networks and Applications (CRNA) provides a detailed picture of the state of mobile networks and satellite broadband in Norway each year. The 2024 report, the eleventh in the series, reveals high availability, good stability, and solid performance.
The report, titled "Norwegian Mobile Networks in 2024" is based on extensive measurements from over 100 stationary locations, satellite-based broadband (both geostationary and low Earth orbit), and mobile nodes on trains in the Oslo area.
Overall, the report shows that the connection stability in Norwegian mobile networks is good. Over two-thirds of the connections have an availability of over 99.99 percent, which corresponds to less than nine seconds of downtime per day. The telecommunications company Ice has slightly better availability than Telenor and Telia.
"Short connection breaks (under one minute) are relatively common, and we see that they last shorter with Ice. Longer breaks are becoming rarer for most users, but they still occur and can affect an operator in parts of, or the entire country," says Tarik Cicic, head of the CRNA department, who also led the work on the report.
The measurements also indicate that the 5G rollout is largely complete. 5G-capable nodes less frequently fall back to 4G, but significant increases in speed are also absent.
Starlink expanding its coverage
The most notable changes are occurring on the satellite front. Starlink, which uses thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, has improved significantly from last year. The latency, which is important for applications like video calls and gaming, has decreased from 75-80 milliseconds in 2023 to 60-65 milliseconds in 2024. The download speed remains good, with a median of 150 Mbps.
"When we look at measurement results at different times of the day, we see signs that more people have started using this service. In periods of presumed lower usage, such as early morning hours, we see better performance," Cicic says.
Starlink's increasing emergence as an improved communication channel may be due to more satellites in polar orbit being put into use during 2024, as well as optimized technology.
Starlink has received a lot of attention in recent years, mainly due to the war in Ukraine and recent claims that the US threatened to cut off their access.
"Although Starlink proves to be a communication solution with good availability, quality, and performance, the political situation raises questions about its use, especially considering foreign control over digital infrastructure. It has become clearer than ever before that we must carefully consider the application areas and how a communication solution is used," Cicic says.
Recently, a government appointed expert group led by Professor Olav Lysne published a report on "national control of critical digital infrastructure" (regjeringen.no) that highlights these concerns. The report points out that Starlink Norway AS, where Elon Musk is the majority owner, represents a case where a foreign private individual has majority ownership and control over digital communication infrastructure used in Norway.
User experience on trains measured for the first time
The report has also looked at mobile coverage on trains in the Oslo area. Here, the news is generally good, with satisfactory or good coverage. But there can be challenges with capacity for demanding applications, especially during rush hour.
User experience has been measured for the first time by recreating video conferences on trains. These are among the most demanding applications, but which many expect to be of satisfactory quality.
"We see that video conferences on trains mostly show good quality, but with the possibility of interruptions and reduced upload speed in periods when many passengers are using the network simultaneously," explains Cicic.
An important mandate
The Center for Resilient Networks and Applications (CRNA), led by Cicic and belonging to Simula Metropolitan Center for Digital Engineering, was established in 2014 as a response to modern society's increasing dependence on internet applications.
"Knowledge about the state of the digital infrastructure in Norway is very important, both for operators, authorities, and us who use these services every day. And to be able to uncover any weaknesses regarding critical applications that use this infrastructure," concludes Cicic.
Read the full report on the state of Norwegian mobile networks in 2024 is available.
CRNA conducts research on the robustness and reliability of communication networks and applications with a mandate and funding from the Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Governance.
