Category Archives: Nordic

Analysis, Blog, Churn, Denmark, Finland, Inflation, MVNO, Nordic, Norway, OPEX, Revenues and pricing, Sweden

Seven signs that competition in Nordic telco is cooling down

The Q3 results just reported by Telia Company, Telenor, Tele2, 3 Scandinavia and Elisa show that it’s quite difficult not to be successful as a Nordic telco today.

Revenue and ARPU is growing. OPEX grows too, but slower than the revenue, so the EBITDA margins are increasing. Churn is decreasing. CAPEX is in decline. More cash is being generated.

We have identified seven signs that competition in cooling down in Nordic telco.

Sign 1. Mobile ARPU grows

Let’s start with Norway. The reported blended mobile ARPU has quite steadily increased for the two MNOs that still report it. For Telenor it grew 4% year-on-year to Q3 2023. For Telia it grew 3%.

Figure 1. Mobile ARPU, Norway (source data: operator reports)

In Sweden, the ARPU development has been a bit more dramatic than in Norway. Three players, first 3, then Telenor and the B2B side of Tele2, witnessed their ARPUs going down from 2018 to the first half of 2021. A corona effect, you might say. Not really; it started before corona started (Q1 2020) and compare with Telia who could keep their ARPU steady or even increase it when 3, Telenor and Tele2 B2B seemingly fought a battle on price.

Continue reading Seven signs that competition in Nordic telco is cooling down →
4G LTE, 5G, Blog, Churn, Denmark, Finland, Nordic, Norway, Sweden

Who has the best mobile network in the Nordics – 2023?

Opensignal’s Global Mobile Network Experience Awards 2023 again showed that the mobile networks of Sweden, Finland – and especially Norway and Denmark – provide some of the best experiences in the world. Some Nordic operators are even top ranked in Opensignal’s 5G Global Mobile Network Experience Awards.

But there are several companies – some with global, some with local ambitions – that offer their take on who has the best mobile network. To differentiate, providers define different metrics and use different methodologies. Rather than boring you with those, we have compiled a cross-case table naming the winner per each metric across three global network experience specialists: Opensignal (now having merged with Tutela), Ookla Speedtest and umlaut.

We have included the latest overall or 5G-specific tests made public in Q4 2022 or 2023.

The named winner per metric in the latest mobile network performance tests performed in Q4 2022 or 2023 by Opensignal, Ookla Speedtest and umlaut. All source links are available at the end of this blog.
Continue reading Who has the best mobile network in the Nordics – 2023? →
CAPEX, data monetisation, Denmark, Finland, FTTx, FWA, mobile data usage, Nordic, Norway, OPEX, References, Sweden

Assessment of Norwegian mobile and fixed broadband pricing in a Nordic context – 2023

Reference: Analysis, 2023

Norway’s Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development last week published two analyses commissioned from Tefficient.

The conclusion is summarised (in Norwegian) in a press release from the Ministry.

Both analyses are quite comprehensive and compare Norway to the three fellow Nordic countries Denmark, Sweden and Finland. It means that they are highly interesting not just for the industry and policy makers in Norway, but in all four countries.

An example graph from the fixed analysis:

Since the Ministry has made both analyses available for public download, you can access them directly and for free from here:

Continue reading Assessment of Norwegian mobile and fixed broadband pricing in a Nordic context – 2023 →
Benchmarks, Denmark, Finland, Nordic, Norway, References, Sweden

Nordic operator benchmark 2023: A decade of excellence

Reference: Benchmarks, 2023

In its tenth year, our comprehensive business benchmark raised the standard with an extensive range of 964 key performance indicators (KPIs). Covering crucial areas such as revenue, OPEX, CAPEX, headcount productivity, subscriptions & channels, performance, load, quality, and innovation & growth, this benchmark caters to 53 functions across mobile, fixed, and integrated operators.

Exclusively sourced from leading Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Danish operators, the peer group data is of the highest quality. To honor pre-agreed confidentiality requirements, participating operators remain anonymous, safeguarding the privacy of their data.

Tefficient’s benchmark has earned the reputation of being the industry’s best-kept secret. However, its outstanding value has enticed a couple of new participants this year, joining the returning operators who actively rely on the benchmark to drive continuous improvement.

Continue reading Nordic operator benchmark 2023: A decade of excellence →
Benchmarks, Denmark, Finland, Nordic, Norway, References, Sweden

Nordic operator benchmark 2022

Reference: Benchmarks, 2022

For the ninth year: Comprehensive business benchmark with 895 KPIs covering revenue, OPEX, CAPEX, headcount productivity, subscriptions & channels, performance, load, quality and innovation & growth – for 53 functions of mobile, fixed and integrated operators.

Peer group data exclusively from Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Danish operators. Due to pre-agreed confidentiality requirements, participating operators are anonymous (and of course their data).

The results demonstrate the value of a region-specific benchmark approach: Nordic operators have global leadership in a wide array of business aspects and a global benchmark would therefore leave them without guidance on how to improve further. In contrast, participating operators now have a great tool to improve their local competitiveness even further.

As every year, the Nordic operator benchmark will be enhanced further based on input from participants. It will run again in January 2023. Read more about the benchmark here.

4G LTE, 5G, Analysis, CAPEX, data monetisation, Denmark, Finland, FTTx, FWA, mobile data usage, Nordic, Norway, References, Sweden

Assessment of Norwegian mobile and fixed broadband pricing in a Nordic context – 2022

Norway’s Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development yesterday published two analyses commissioned from Tefficient.

The conclusion is summarised (in Norwegian) in a press release from the Ministry: https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/norske-mobilpriser-er-fortsatt-hoye-i-nordisk-sammenheng/id2909632/

Both analyses are quite comprehensive and compare Norway to the three fellow Nordic countries Denmark, Sweden and Finland. It means that they are highly interesting not just for the industry and policy makers in Norway, but in all four countries.

Sample graph from the mobile report
Sample graph from the fixed broadband report

Since the Ministry has made both analyses available for public download, you can access them directly and for free from here:

Assessment of Norwegian mobile revenues in a Nordic context – 2022

Assessment of Norwegian fixed broadband pricing in a Nordic context – 2022

The analyses are one-year-later updates of the original analyses that provided input to the government’s white paper to the Norwegian Parliament titled “Vår felles digitale grunnmur — Mobil-, bredbånds- og internettjenester“. See Tefficient’s reference from last year:

Assessment of Norwegian mobile and fixed broadband pricing in a Nordic context

Commissioned by Norway’s Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.

4G LTE, 5G, Blog, Churn, Denmark, Finland, Nordic, Norway, Sweden

Who has the best mobile network in the Nordics?

Opensignal’s Global Mobile Network Experience Awards 2022 showed that the mobile networks of Sweden, Finland – and especially Norway and Denmark – provide some of the best experiences in the world.

But there are many companies – some with global, some with local ambitions – that offer their take on who has the best mobile network. To differentiate, providers define different metrics and use different methodologies. Rather than boring you with those, we have compiled a cross-case table naming the winner per each metric across four global network experience specialists: Opensignal, Tutela, Ookla Speedtest and umlaut.

We have included the latest overall or 5G-specific tests made public in 2021 or 2022.

Continue reading Who has the best mobile network in the Nordics? →
4G LTE, 5G, Analysis, CAPEX, data monetisation, Denmark, Finland, FTTx, FWA, mobile data usage, Nordic, Norway, References, Sweden

Assessment of Norwegian mobile and fixed broadband pricing in a Nordic context

Norway’s Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation has today published an extensive white paper to the Norwegian Parliament titled “Vår felles digitale grunnmur — Mobil-, bredbånds- og internettjenester“.

Tefficient has written two comprehensive analyses to support chapter 7 in the white paper addressing mobile and fixed broadband networks:

  • “Assessment of Norwegian mobile revenues in a Nordic context”
  • “Assessment of Norwegian fixed broadband pricing in a Nordic context”

The first analysis investigates whether Norwegian mobile prices should be considered high or moderate given certain specific Norwegian conditions. A multitude of metrics are used – always compared between the same four markets: Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

The second analysis investigates Norwegian broadband prices, comparing them against three other Nordic markets: Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

The white paper (in Norwegian) summarises the two analyses in sections 7.2.1.4 and 7.2.2.3 using selected graphs and conclusions. The ministry has integrated the key findings with own and independent research, data and viewpoints to form a basis for future policy.

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Benchmarks, Denmark, Finland, Nordic, Norway, Sweden

Why cutting 10% of present actuals risks your business

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions“

Madonna

Don’t get us wrong, cost management is important. Our point is that you should not base your improvement targets on your present actuals.

With targets such as “All functions cut 10% off the costs”, you risk cutting down on the activities that are key to your success. Too. Because you don’t know for sure that they are actually key to your success. Since you haven’t measured it against relevant peers. This year. It risks your business: The negative impact of 10% cost reduction in an activity that is key to your success could easily outweigh the positive impact of a equally large cost reduction in an activity which actually needed to be trimmed.

COVID-19 has raised the bar. In the midst of a global health crisis, telcos are delivering. For many operators, Q3 2020 represents their best EBITDA margin quarter ever. But we need to be honest about why. Many cost reductions have – so far – come almost automatically:

Continue reading Why cutting 10% of present actuals risks your business →
Benchmarks, Denmark, Finland, Nordic, Norway, References, Sweden

Nordic operator benchmark 2020

Reference: Benchmarks, 2020

For the eighth consecutive year: Comprehensive business benchmark with 890 KPIs covering revenue, OPEX, CAPEX, headcount productivity, subscriptions & channels, performance, load, quality and innovation & growth – for 54 functions of mobile, fixed/cable and integrated operators.

Peer group data exclusively from Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Danish operators. Due to pre-agreed confidentiality requirements, participating operators are anonymous (and of course their data).

Continue reading Nordic operator benchmark 2020 →