The Nordics are cementing their place as 5G leaders in Europe and setting benchmarks for widespread availability and innovative strategies.

According to Ookla, the Nordics’ timely release of mid-band spectrum, appetite for network sharing, and strong government policies have enabled the region to outpace much of Europe—offering lessons for competitors like the UK.

Boasting some of the world’s most advanced mobile networks, Nordic countries continue to dominate Europe’s 5G connectivity rankings—rivalling even global frontrunners like South Korea, Qatar, and the US.

High urbanisation rates, flat topography (in Denmark and Finland), and elevated average revenues per user (ARPU) have helped operators deliver both urban and rural coverage that few European nations can match.

Such is the focus on 5G performance that Nordic operators have raced to announce significant coverage achievements.

Telia in Norway recently claimed it was the first to reach “close to 99% of the population” with 5G by the end of 2024. In Finland, DNA revealed that its 5G network now spans “all municipalities in mainland Finland with population coverage close to 100%.” Over in Sweden, the joint venture Net4Mobility – a partnership between Tele2 and Telenor – reported covering “over 90% of Sweden’s population with 5G.”

This relentless expansion underscores the importance of 5G in the region, where almost all operators have completed multi-year nationwide network upgrades ahead of schedule.

Nordic 5G availability leaves others behind

Speedtest Intelligence data reaffirms the Nordics’ primacy in 5G coverage. In Q4 2024, three Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, and Norway – were in the top five for 5G availability in Europe.

Denmark led the continent with an 83.4% availability rate, narrowly eclipsing Switzerland (the only other European nation to exceed the 80% milestone.) All four Nordic nations were ranked in Europe’s top ten for 5G accessibility.

This achievement stands in sharp contrast to countries heavily reliant on Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), such as Ireland (61.9%) and the Netherlands (60.5%).

DSS technologies allow 4G and 5G to share the same frequency bands, enabling swift expansion but often at the cost of degraded network speed and reliability. Nordic operators, by contrast, have bypassed over-dependence on DSS through the early allocation of dedicated low-band spectrum, particularly in the 700 MHz frequency band.

First assigned in Finland in 2016 and rolled out across the Nordics by 2019, the 700 MHz band has allowed operators to address propagation challenges—delivering deeper indoor and rural 5G coverage.

Traffic shift to 5G networks

High availability levels have driven significant traffic migration to 5G in the Nordics.

According to the Finnish regulator Traficom, nearly 25% of all Finnish smartphone traffic originated on 5G networks in the first half of 2024. This is far ahead of countries like Spain and Portugal, where 5G traffic shares (even inclusive of fixed wireless access) remain below 20%.

Increased 5G usage across the Nordics has been facilitated by extensive network-sharing agreements, which have reduced costs and improved rural coverage economics. Denmark’s TT Network (a joint effort by Telia and Telenor), Finland’s Finnish Shared Network, and Sweden’s Net4Mobility collectively illustrate a commitment to partnership rarely seen in other parts of Europe.

In Sweden, for instance, symmetrical 5G availability levels of approximately 72.5% were achieved by Tele2 and Telenor – thanks to their collaboration – fostering a more equitable user experience. This contrasts with smaller players like Ice in Norway and 3 in Sweden, which lack heavy involvement in such sharing arrangements and report significantly lower 5G availability.

The Nordics are also leading the way in decommissioning legacy networks, with Finland and Norway having fully completed their 3G shutdowns by the end of 2024. Denmark is expected to follow shortly, as its final operator prepares to switch off 3G services in the coming months.

The swift closure of these older networks not only frees up spectrum for more advanced services but also reiterates the region’s prioritisation of next-generation connectivity.

UK lags behind 5G leaders in Europe

While the Nordics race ahead, the UK continues to struggle to rank among the 5G leaders in Europe.

According to Luke Kehoe, European Industry Analyst at Ookla, “the United Kingdom recorded 5G availability of 42.2% in Q4 2024, according to Speedtest Intelligence data.”

This puts the UK significantly behind Nordic nations, where availability exceeds 65% across the board, and even trailing Western European peers like Ireland (61.9%), France (65.7%), and Germany (63.4%).

“The UK’s underperformance in 5G availability highlights deeper structural barriers hindering its rollout progress,” adds Kehoe. “This is particularly striking given the UK’s similarly high levels of urbanisation to the Nordics and its relatively less rugged and remote topography compared to countries like Norway—factors that should provide a comparative advantage for 5G network deployment in the UK.”

Unlike Denmark, which incentivised operators by allowing reductions in spectrum licence fees in exchange for rollout commitments in underserved regions, the UK has avoided large-scale measures to boost rural or nationwide 5G deployment.

“The success of the Nordics in achieving high levels of 5G availability in both rural and urban areas stems, in part, from robust policy measures aimed at incentivising widespread 5G rollouts, something the UK can learn from,” Kehoe explains.

“Denmark allowed operators to bid for reductions in their 5G spectrum license fees in exchange for agreeing to coverage commitments in underserved areas, accelerating the deployment of the 700 MHz band, which is critical for widespread coverage deep indoors and in rural areas.”

The Nordic region’s exemplary progress in 5G connectivity highlights the impact of government foresight, inter-operator collaboration, and a focus on rural accessibility. By addressing structural and policy-level challenges, countries like the UK could find a roadmap to improve their rollout and catch up with 5G leaders in the rest of Europe.

(Photo by Johny Goerend)

See also: BT urges businesses to prepare for 2G network sunset

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