Providers of certain types of ecom networks and services are required to register their activities with Nkom. Read more about the duty to register.

The obligations that apply to providers of electronic communications services derive from the Electronic Communications Act and associated regulations (Ecom Regulations, Numbering Regulations, etc.). The Guideline for providers can give helpful information. 

Assignment of numbering resources

Numbering resources are assigned by Nkom upon application. The following information must be provided when applying for numbering resources, cf. Section 6 of the Numbering Regulation:

  • name, address, telephone number and Norwegian organisation number of the applicant
  • name of contact person
  • description of the network/service for which the numbering resource(s) will be used
  • planned launch date for the service

Applications can be sent to firmapost@nkom.no

Nkom requires the payment of a fee for the assignment of numbering resources, in accordance with Section 6 of the Regulations relating to administrative charges payable to Nkom.

Numbering resources from numbering plans needs permission from Nkom in order to be transferred to another provider. Upon cessation of activities, unused numbers and number series shall be returned to Nkom.

For more information on numbering resources, please contact Nkom by telephone on +47 22 82 46 00 or by e-mail to firmapost@nkom.no

The Norwegian numbering plan for telephony etc. (E.164)

E.164 is an international numbering plan for public telephone systems where each number consists of a country code and an end-user number. The international E.164 numbering plan is managed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

ITU has assigned the country code 47 to Norway. Nkom manages the Norwegian numbering plan under country code 47. The main structure of the numbering plan is as follows:

  • 00: international prefix 
  • 01: reserved for future changes to the numbering plan 
  • 02000-09999: 5-digit special numbers 
  • 100-115: standardised special numbers 
  • 116 000-116 999: 6-digit EEA-harmonised numbers 
  • 117-179: standardised special numbers 
  • 1800-1899: 4-digit numbers for directory enquiry services 
  • 190-199: service provider-specific special numbers 
  • 20 00 00 00-39 99 99 99: 8-digit numbers for fixed services 
  • 40 00 00 00-49 99 99 99: 8-digit numbers for mobile services 
  • 50 00 00 00-57 99 99 99: 8-digit numbers for fixed services
  • 58 00 00 00 00 00-58 99 99 99 99 99: 12-digit numbers for machine-to-machine / Internet of Things communication 
  • 59 00 00 00-59 99 99 99: 8-digit numbers for machine-to-machine / Internet of Things communication 
  • 60 00 00 00-79 99 99 99: 8-digit numbers for fixed services
  • 800 00 000-899 99 999: 8-digit special numbers 
  • 90 00 00 00-99 99 99 99: 8-digit numbers for mobile services

You will find the detailed Norwegian numbering plan here.

The document Assignment and use of numbers for land mobile services provides principles that apply to the assignment and use of mobile numbers. The principles apply to number ranges that Nkom assigns directly to operators, number ranges sub-assigned to other providers, and also numbers ported from other providers.

Nkom will be able to assign and allow the use of eight-digit mobile numbers for services if these can be considered as full mobile telephone services. In order to be considered a full mobile telephone service, the service overall must be able to offer:

  • incoming and outgoing voice services using numbers from the national number plan,
  • ordinary SMS functionality and
  • data services.

For services as mobile broadband, fleet control, eCall, smart metering etc. mobile numbers cannot be used. Instead, numbers for M2M/IoT shall be used. For subscriptions with several SIM-cards (known as dual-, multi- or extra-SIM) and services for connected devices, such as smart watches, tablets and dual mobiles, 12-digit M2M/IoT numbers shall be used. 

Administrative charges and charges for the use of numbering

Nkom collects a sector based administrative charge and specific charges for allocating and use of number resources.

Nkom sends an invoice for the sector based administrative charge to the individual provider together with the administrative decision. Invoices for the use of numbering are usually sent to the providers in May. 

Calculation of the fees is not affected by whether the provider is a Norwegian company or a Norwegian-registered Foreign Enterprise.

Charges are specified in the Regulation (Norwegian only) 
Forskrift om sektoravgift og gebyr til Nasjonal kommunikasjonsmyndigheit § 6

The current charge is found here (Norwegian only).

Extraterritorial use of Norwegian numbers

According to Numbering Regulations section 16, Norwegian numbering resources cannot be provided for use permanently outside Norway. This means that a Norwegian number cannot be used in other countries on a permanent basis for origination or termination in a telecommunications network, or by permanent international roaming.

This provision entered into force in 2015. The reason for the regulation is to prevent numbering export due to scalability concerns, to facilitate appropriate resource monitoring and to reduce the risk of abuse and fraud using Norwegian numbers from abroad.

It is not permitted for e.g., customer centres or call centres to use Norwegian numbers, if the business is located abroad. This also applies for businesses with Norwegian-based customer groups. 

The use of Norwegian numbers must comply with this rule and applies to both numbers assigned directly from Nkom and numbers obtained from other providers. 
The rule applies whether the provider has a duty to register with Nkom or not. Registration with Nkom does not in itself constitute an approval of the use of Norwegian outside Norway on a permanent basis, in breach of Numbering Regulations Section 16. 

Nkom may at any time impose a formal supervision to assess if numbers are used permanently outside of Norway, c.f. the Electronic Communications Act section 10-1.
Operators seeking to provide services that are not in line with the regulation, must apply for approval by Nkom. However, due to the reason for the regulation, current administrative practice indicates that such approval is not normally granted.

Temporary roaming is not considered as extraterritorial use.

There is an exemption for use of 12-digit numbers reserved for M2M/IoT communication. Such resources may be used on a permanent basis in other countries.