Denmark is becoming increasingly connected. The country’s mobile network continues to expand and is being upgraded with lightning-fast 5G technology, benefiting users who increasingly make calls, access the internet and download data on the go, expecting fast and stable service wherever they need it.
Since 2014, the Danish Technological Institute has annually assessed which mobile network provides the best user experience - measured by call quality, download speed, upload speed and video streaming. According to the Institute’s experts, TDC NET once again delivers the best overall experience in 2023. The study concludes that TDC NET offers a significantly better overall mobile network experience than Telenor, Telia and 3, both nationally and regionally.
Fully deployed 5G nationwide
The Danish Technological Institute also notes that TDC NET is the only telecom provider with a fully deployed nationwide 5G network, offering 99 percent coverage. Other providers are still in the deployment phase: 3 provides 91.6 percent 5G access, while Telenor and Telia have 57 percent coverage.
“At TDC NET, we aim to connect all of Denmark for everyone’s benefit. The study by the Technological Institute demonstrates that we are well on our way to achieving this goal. Over the past few years, we’ve worked tirelessly to upgrade over 4,000 mobile towers across the country with new 5G technology. I’m pleased to see that our investments are paying off,” says Michel Jumeau, CEO of TDC NET.
However, he acknowledges that further efforts are needed to secure the future:
“It’s essential to not only meet users’ current needs. As a society, we expect to communicate increasingly digitally in the coming years. As Denmark’s largest provider of digital infrastructure, we have a natural responsibility to ensure that we continue to offer users a fast and stable nationwide mobile network in the future. That’s why we’re continuing our investments to ensure we have sufficient capacity and the right technologies to meet future demands,” explains Michel Jumeau.
Increased data usage and more measurement points
This marks the eighth year that the Danish Technological Institute has conducted its evaluation of the best mobile network experience in Denmark. This year, the same methodology as previous years was used, with the Institute’s experts conducting measurements across all regions over a four-week period. However, the number of measurement points increased from 572 in 2022 to 691 in 2023, with higher density in smaller geographic regions.
Considering the increased amount of data users are transmitting via mobile networks, TDC NET raised its performance criteria for a good experience. For downloads, the requirement is now 30 MB within 15 seconds (up from 10 MB in 15 seconds last year), while for uploads, it’s 30 MB within 30 seconds. Despite these stricter standards, TDC NET’s average download time increased by only 0.6 seconds. By comparison, 3’s time increased by 1.2 seconds, Telia’s by 6.2 seconds and Telenor’s by 10.1 seconds.
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See the summary of the results from the report below or read the full rapport here.
Selected results from the study
The study of mobile network experiences in Denmark, conducted by the Danish Technological Institute for TDC NET with 691 measurement points distributed across the country, reveals the following:
- TDC NET delivers an 88 percent error-free mobile network experience nationwide. Telia achieves 64 percent, while Telenor and 3 each reach 58 percent.
- TDC NET provides faster and more reliable download and upload speeds than Telenor, Telia and 3, both nationwide and regionally.
- Standard mobile phone calls are nearly error-free, with no statistically significant differences among TDC NET, Telenor, Telia, and 3. Variations from previous studies may be due to statistical anomalies.
- TDC NET delivers 99.7 percent error-free video streaming on 5G devices. 3 follows with 99.6 percent, Telenor with 98.8 percent and Telia with 98.5 percent. The minor differences can be attributed to applications adjusting video quality based on the available download speed to ensure the best user experience.
- TDC NET is the only telecom provider with a fully deployed nationwide 5G network, offering 99 percent coverage. Other providers are still in the deployment phase: 3 has 91.6 percent coverage, while Telenor and Telia reach 57 percent.
Fact box
The study defines a good mobile network experience as follows:
- A 30-second error-free mobile phone call where the recipient is audible is considered successful. In case of an error, redial attempts are considered successful if they connect.
- 30 MB downloaded within 15 seconds. Speeds exceeding 90 seconds are considered equivalent to no usable mobile data coverage.
- 30 MB uploaded within 30 seconds. Speeds exceeding 90 seconds are similarly deemed non-usable.
- 60 seconds of uninterrupted streaming of DR TV news on an app without buffering. In previous studies, the same YouTube video was used, but DR TV was chosen to avoid potential caching between tests. Buffering delays between 0.1 and 10 seconds are classified as errors, while delays exceeding 10 seconds are deemed non-functional for video streaming.