Commentary

This could happen when Telenor buys Three Sweden - coverage, prices, competition

Telenor and Three might merge in Sweden and we have looked at possible consequences.

Erik Mörner

Published 13 June 2025 - 15:11

No mobile operators have previously merged in Sweden. We have had Vodafone, which bought and took over Europolitan, and we have had a number of different network collaborations, the most spectacular perhaps when Telia did not get a 3G license and agreed with Tele2 to cooperate on the license Tele2 won. But never have two mobile operators in Sweden merged.

Telenor and Three are thus breaking new ground here, but since Three has only in recent years made similar deals in Italy and most recently in the UK with Vodafone, we can see current examples of what can happen and how it affects you as a mobile customer.

Since it is Telenor buying Three and not the other way around, it is likely that Telenor will become the majority owner of the new company. In the UK, Vodafone owns 51 percent of VodafoneThree and Three's owner Hutchison the remaining 49 percent. In Italy, Three's parent company Hutchison has for a couple of years bought out the other co-owner so that it is now the sole owner of WindTre.

When it comes to prices and offerings, Three and Telenor have quite similar offerings. Both operators profile themselves by offering included international roaming in many countries at no extra cost, and when we compare prices, a subscription with unlimited data also costs 449 kronor per month with both operators.

A major difference between them, however, is that Three only offers mobile connectivity while Telenor also has TV and fixed broadband. This is not the first time Telenor has bought a Swedish mobile operator. They did it 20 years ago when they took over Vodafone Sweden and turned it into Telenor Sweden. At that time, some of Vodafone's services followed and were given new names in Telenor's guise. However, Telenor took full ownership then. Today, Three's parent company, by all accounts, is not interested in selling and handing over, but they want a merger and thus continued influence. This is demonstrated by actions in Italy and the United Kingdom.

In Sweden, Three has its own mobile network with 4G and 5G, while Telenor shares its network with Tele2. Telenor's customers obviously do not want to lose their coverage, and the new company also does not want to sell Three's existing network to a new player because the whole idea of the deal is to have fewer mobile operators in Sweden. When Three and Vodafone are now integrating their systems in the United Kingdom, they have announced that all customers will be able to use both networks and roam freely between the two for the best coverage within the United Kingdom. This is a solution that Telenor and Three could also choose in Sweden.

In the long run, Sweden would thus only have two mobile networks, one operated by Tele2 and Three/Telenor and one operated by Telia. Since the whole purpose of the deal is to have fewer mobile operators in the Swedish market and for those remaining to gain more strength, the collaboration around the network with Tele2 could very well continue for the new merged Telenor/Three. As Three's existing network is phased out over time, some of its base stations can simply be dismantled and sold, and those that can be used in the new joint network can be bought into by Tele2 and the joint network company Net4Mobility.

In addition to the possible roaming between Telenor's and Three's existing networks in Sweden, they will both likely initially continue to operate the brands separately so that you as a customer do not notice any major differences other than the advantage of increased coverage. They do not want to risk losing customers. In the long run, however, it is likely that Three will be integrated into the existing Telenor structure and eventually that Telenor will also become the common name.