Switching Relations: The rise and fall of the Norwegian telecom industry

Abstract

The last ten years have been marked by the increasing use of information and communication technologies, and particularly by different forms of telecommunications. At the same time, the telecom industry has gone through radical changes, due mainly to the digitalisation and liberalisation that have revolutionised the sector since the 1980s. Some companies have disappeared, while new entrants dominate the global arena. The Finnish Nokia emerged in the wake of this development, and together with the old Swedish incumbent, L.M. Ericsson, they make Scandinavia a telecom centre in the world. Norway did not get a Nokia, despite its leading role in telecom in the 1980s. What is more, the old Norwegian telecom industry has virtually disappeared. An industry that employed thousands of workers in the 1980s has all but vanished. Nevertheless, Norway is still a leading country in telecom, and one of the most profitable and promising Norwegian companies in recent years is Telenor, the former Public Telephone Operator. This thesis will try to provide an historical explanation and understanding of this development, that is, the rise and fall of the Norwegian telecom industry.