Bergur Thormundsson
Research expert covering technology in the Nordics, AI and smart cities
Telecoms industry in Sweden - statistics & facts
Like all the Nordic nations, Sweden has a high rate of digitalization and telecommunication penetration. In 2023, 95 percent of Sweden’s population of over 10 million had access to the internet at home. This represented a significant increase from the 51 percent of the population that had internet access at home in 2000. Internet services form part of a wider telecommunications market in Sweden valued at 4.4 billion euros though it has been declining slowly in recent years. The drop in revenue may stem from a drop in prices as the broadband price index has seen a steady decrease from 2016 to 2019 where it plateaued. By 2023, the broadband price index totaled 66 points, aligning it with the EU average of 64 points.
Stable dominance of local companies
While Sweden has seen a constant increase in the number of companies engaged in the telecommunication sector in the last decade it is still dominated by a few household names that hold the largest share of the market. The steady rise of enterprises contributes to a diverse field of telecom innovations and opportunities, though many small companies are bought by the largest competitors. The growth of companies peaked in 2019 and has remained stable since. Of these many companies, Telenor Sverige AB was the most profitable by a substantial margin. Following closely behind is OnePhone Holding AB.A highly mobile nation in line with Nordic trends
The number of mobile cellular subscriptions in Sweden has grown from six million in 2000 to over 13 million subscriptions in 2022 - more than the country’s. In comparison, fixed line subscriptions have decreased considerably since the turn of the century, dropping steadily to barely 1.2 million in 2022. The inverse nature of these trends is in line with digitalization around the globe as more and more people eschew landlines for mobile phones. The digital trends of modern society are likely to remain current and up to date in Sweden, much like the other Nordic countries, as all of them are heavily digitalized economies.Outlook
In general the telecommunication industry in Sweden is likely to see steady growth and advancement, updating networks to 5G, improving service, and reducing reliance on older technologies. In particular the use of landline phones is expected to be in terminal decline, only used by companies and organizations, rarely by the average consumer.
