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Dk

Basics[]

Denmark has 3 physical network operators:

  • TDC (youSee)
  • Telenor/Telia (+ Lebara and Lyca Mobile; almost complete network sharing)
  • 3 (spoken: Tre, 3G, 4G & 5G only)

and some MVNOs operating on these networks.

2G/GSM is on 900 MHz, 3G/UMTS on 900 and 2100 MHz and 4G/LTE on the 800, 1800, 2100, 2300 and 2600 MHz (Bands 1, 3, 7, 20, 38 and 40) frequencies like in most of Europe. 5G will eventually run on most of the bands, but is currently mostly on 700 MHz (n28) & 3500 MHz (n78). All operators have shut down 3G in 2022-23, so bring a compatible 4G or 5G device; Tre (3) is a 3G/4G/5G network only and never had its own 2G.

In 2012 Telenor and Telia established a common infrastructure company called TT-Netværket to operate their shared 2G/3G/4G/5G mobile networks. The partnership only covers the RAN (i.e. the antennas, towers and transmission equipment and spectrum) and doesn't involve the two companies’ core networks, enabling the two firms to continue to offer different services to mobile users while having the same footprint and roughly the same speeds.

Another provider sold under the brand of Net1/Cibicom Mobility operated by Cibicom A/S offers mobile broadband based on LTE on 450 MHz with a pretty large footprint all over the country. But it's limited to contract subscribers and not offered for prepaid. That's why it's not mentioned any further.

Coverage[]

TDC & Telia/Telenor networks have nationwide 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G coverage (5G is currently not available on prepaid/MVNOs though). Tre is a 3G/4G/5G network only with national roaming on TDC for roaming for 2G, 3G and 4G with data too, where it doesn't have own coverage.

The combined Telenor/Telia network covers 99.9% with 2G and 3G and >95% with 4G/LTE. The sharing leads to identical coverage and virtually identical speeds.

To check out a certain place, it's best to take a look on the coverage maps:

Telia Denmark and Telenor Denmark share their networks through an infrastructure company called TT-Netværket. This partnership was established in 2012. Now, the two main operators share their 2G, 3G & 4G/LTE networks. As of June 2021, TT-Netværket enabled 5G NR (sharing) as well. As a result, network coverage and average speeds are roughly the same. The only two MVNOs offering prepaid services accessible to travelers, Lebara Denmark and Lyca Mobile Denmark, also run on TT-Netværket. Commercial 5G NR has been available in Denmark since 2020 on the TDC/YouSee, Telenor Denmark, Telia Denmark and 3 Denmark networks. Lebara Denmark and Lyca Mobile don't have access to 5G NR (yet).

Availability[]

While 3 or 4 networks and over 50 operators sound like a lot of competition, prepaid offers have become rare, as nearly all providers are geared to contract customers now. All four main network operators have stopped their prepaid activities altogether and sell only contracts, which require a Danish personal number (CPR-nummer) and are only available to Danish residents. TDC is the last operator that closed its prepaid operations as of February 2020. The Danish prepaid SIM market is now an exclusive MVNO business, and with the exit of Oister, is now essentially a duopoly, and both only use the TT-Netværket (Telia+Telenor) network. If you want to use the TDC or 3 networks, you will need to roam in with a SIM from another country (which can be obtained at Copenhagen Airport, see below).

So unlike other countries, it's no use anymore to go to any network operator store for a Danish prepaid card. Instead, go to a supermarket or convenience store (Lyca Mobile is much easier of the two as they can be installed as eSIM on compatible devices [introduced around September 2023] while their physical SIMs are available in kiosks everywhere as well as sometimes for free in the arrivals area of Copenhagen Airport, while Lebara SIMs tends to mostly be available in supermarkets).

In addition to the above, the WHSmith in the arrivals area of Copenhagen Airport sells both 3 UK and Orange Holidays SIMs for use locally if a Danish phone number is not necessary (Refer to the United Kingdom article for some cautions regarding the use of a 3 UK SIM). However, they are both significantly more expensive than Lyca or Lebara, the only advantage being the ability to use your full allowance in roaming after you leave Denmark. If you don't plan on leaving Denmark, or you can work within the EU roaming allowances provided by Lebara or Lyca, either will be cheaper.

Although you can buy the starter packs in their stores, the following SIM cards require a Danish personal number (CPR-nummer) to get the card activated. Doing so can be done online only. These following prepaid offers are therefore not accessible to visitors:

  • Nettalk by Netto supermarket chain,
  • OK Mobil available in OK gas stations (taken over by CBB Mobil on 12/JUN/2023)

If you don't have a Danish CPR-nummer, don't purchase them, as you won't be able to activate them. As such, they are not featured in the article. This also means that with 2 MVNO's left to offer prepaid products, the choice in Denmark is rather limited for visitors. Nonetheless, the prices are still very low with affordable high-data and unlimited data packages increasingly being sold by many operators. The average mobile data usage of Danish SIM cards was 26.7 GB per capita and month in 2022 (source). There are also international eSIM plans that offer data for Denmark - these are found towards the end of this article.

Registration?[]

In mid-2021 a law was proposed requiring all prepaid SIMs sold after the end of 2021 to be registered to a person’s name with a photo ID or CPR number, which would have made Denmark the latest EU country at the time to require registration of prepaid SIMs. While Oister used this as a reason to exit the prepaid business, this law does not seem to have actually passed - at least not yet, since neither Lebara nor Lyca Mobile require registration to get or use a prepaid SIM as of October 2022.

EU flag
Denmark is part of the EU, where from 2017 new international roaming rules are enforced. In most European countries you can now 'roam like at home' at domestic rates rather than excessive roaming rates. For specifics about the new regulation check European Union chapter and every provider below. All Danish prepaid providers have now enabled data roaming on most of their plans, but limit the surcharge-free allowance abroad according to FUP rules. Check every provider below for specifics.

Lebara[]

Lebara new

new logo

The British Lebara Group sells its products in Denmark too. They used to be called Lebara mobile, now only Lebara. They remain the only prepaid MVNO on the Telenor network (with network sharing on Telia) giving good coverage in 2G, 3G and now on 4G/LTE too. Since 2020, Lebara has switched to the original Telenor IP backbone which has better routing, that leads to better pings and a smoother experience.

Availability[]

The starter pack (with DKK 10 credit) is sold for free in their outlets or to be sent to any Danish postal adress (https://mobile.lebara.com/dk/en/checkout/select-number) or you can buy it for DKK 49 (with DKK 10 credit) at different gas stations and supermarkets. Lebara calls it a subscription or Mobilabonnement, which is normally the name for rolling contracts in Denmark. Lebara is still a prepaid provider, even if they claim to sell contracts (a true contract would require a CPR number). Promotional gifts vary depending on point of purchase and time of year; for example, currently, if ordered online the starter pack comes with one month of service for free.

Online top-ups can be made online by credit card or using top-up vouchers available in the shops shown above. To check your balance, text 'Balance' to 5010.

90 days from the last charged event (any event that adds or removes credit from the balance), the SIM will become dormant and only incoming services allowed. A dormant SIM can only be reactivated by adding credit. 90 days after becoming dormant, the SIM will expire completely and can't be reactivated. There is no need to cancel your "subscription", just don't top it up anymore.

Data feature packs[]

Default data rate is DKK 40 per GB.

Their data packages come now in two different product lines. One is activated online through the personal account or app and must be paid by credit card or PayPal extra. Some packages contain voice allowance, that can be used to call from Denmark to 60 countries without additional cost.

voice & data packages (with roaming included):
Data Voice EU Cap Price
5 GB 5 hours (*) 1 GB DKK 19
20 GB 20 hours(*) 2 GB DKK 49
30 GB 30 hours(*) 3 GB DKK 59
60 GB 60 hours(*) 4 GB DKK 69
100 GB 100 hours(*) 5 GB DKK 99
200 GB 200 hours(*) 6 GB DKK 119
400 GB unlimited 8 GB DKK 159
data-only packages (no roaming included)
Data EU cap Price
20 GB no roaming DKK 49
60 GB no roaming DKK 79
100 GB no roaming DKK 99
300 GB no roaming DKK 159

(*) = 5 hours EU talktime included

The DKK 19 package is a promotional offer that comes and goes. If you're specifically looking to buy this package, check the Lebara website when you arrive to make sure it's available before purchasing a starter kit.

Online packages must be paid by Mastercard, VISA, AmEx or PayPal. Bundles are valid for 30 days, will renew automatically, if there is enough credit (plus DKK 5) or linked to a credit card or PayPal. They can be stopped by texting <activation code>*stop to 5010 e.g. 'GETALL*stop' or online. Overuse is charged by the default rate.

Note, that the data-only bundles will also automatically renew if you run out of data, not just when 30 days are up.

EU roaming (online transactions required)[]

To use your phone abroad for roaming, you need to do an online transaction, such as ordering a new SIM card, signing up for MyLebara or top-up online. As soon as you have made one of the above transactions, Lebara will activate the roaming service on your number within one minute for free. While they follow "roam like at home" rules, data volumes are capped for every package as indicated in the table above. Note that their data-only bundles don't include any EU/EEA roaming at all. Here the default EU roaming tariff of DKK 40 per GB applies instead.

In addition to the EU/EEA countries, Lebara also includes usage in the UK (including Gibraltar), Switzerland, the Faroe Islands, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro as part of the EU/EEA roaming allowance. Lebara also supports roaming in some other non-EU countries (see here), which is significantly more expensive, but can be useful for keeping your SIM card alive (sending a SMS while roaming is a charged activity).

More info[]

Lyca Mobile Denmark[]

Lycamobile new

new logo

The UK-based operator Lyca Mobile (formerly written Lycamobile) opened its Danish branch in 2010 and is the leading MVNO on the ethno market. In Denmark they previously operated as MVNO on the TDC network until around 2018-19, now they operate on the Telia network in 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE shared with Telenor. Since 2023, Lyca Mobile has switched to the original Telia IP backbone which has better routing, that leads to better pings and a smoother experience. However, tethering when roaming outside of Denmark is still blocked.

Availability[]

Lycamobile

old logo

Their SIM card is given out online for free to be sent to any Danish postal address or offline at many outlets (store locator) or you can buy it for DKK 29 (with DKK 10 credit) at different service stations and supermarkets. Top-ups of DKK 50 to 500 can be made online with MasterCard and VISA. Since September 2023, Lyca Mobile DK also supports eSIM for compatible devices.

If you don't make any calls or SMS within a 3 month period your credit will be frozen. If your credit has been frozen you have one month in which to top up again, in which case your old credit will be reinstated. If you do not top up within this period your number will be frozen permanently and you will not be able to use your SIM.

Data feature packs[]

DKK 0.49 per MB are charged if no data bundle has been activated or all data is used up. Speed on 4G/LTE is quite high with speeds up to 100 Mbit/s.

These monthly data bundles for Denmark with EU roaming capped under RLAH rules are available and valid for 30 days:

Package

DK Data EU/EEA cap UK/CH cap Price Activation
Data M 15 GB 5.9 GB 2.5 GB DKK 49 *139*4530#
Data XL 100 GB 11.85 GB 5.93 GB DKK 99 *139*4540#
Data XXXL 500 GB 21.4 GB 10.7 GB DKK 179 *139*4560#

Furthermore they offer these combo bundles, most (except the All in One 49 and 79 packages) also offer unlimited on-net talktime:

Package DK Data EU/EEA cap UK/CH cap Voice (off-net) & SMS Price Activation
All in One 19* 5 GB 2.3 GB 1.15 GB 5 hrs, unlimited# DKK 19 *139*445019#
All in One 49 15 GB 5.9 GB 2.95 GB 15 hrs, unlimited# DKK 49 *139*4549#
All in One 59 30 GB 7.05 GB 3.43 GB 30 hrs, unlimited# DKK 59 *139*445069#
All in One 79 60 GB 9.45 GB 4.73 GB 60 hrs, unlimited# DKK 79 *139*4579#
All in One 99 100 GB 11.85 GB 5.93 GB all unlimited# (+ 10 hrs intl) DKK 99* *139*4599#
All in One 119 200 GB 14.25 GB 7.13 GB all unlimited# (+ 15 hrs intl) DKK 119 *139*45129#
All in one 179 500 GB 21.4 GB 10.7 GB all unlimited# (+ 900 mins intl) DKK 179 *139*179#
All in One 199+ 200 GB 23.8 GB 11.9 GB all unlimited# (+ 180@/900 mins intl) DKK 199 *139*199#

(*) = Package must be bought online with credit card, cannot be paid with balance

(@) = Afghanistan and Nigeria landline and mobile talktime allowance

(#) = FUP of 6000 minutes and 6000 SMSes per billing cycle

All packages include tethering (within Denmark only). Directly paying by MasterCard or VISA is possible online. They will auto-renew, if not stopped by calling customer service 3332 from Lyca Mobile or online. All excess data will be charged in the default rate or you can add one of these data bolt-ons for the remainder of the running time of the base package (no EU cap):

  • 500 MB: DKK 25, activation: 601
  • 1 GB: DKK 45, activation: 602

For activation of the add-ons, text code to 3535. They will not auto-renew.

EU roaming[]

Roam like at home has been finally implemented by Lyca Mobile. This means that you can use the standard rate and the packages mentioned above up to the EU/EEA cap without surcharges in all EU/EEA countries, while a separate UK and Swiss roaming allowance has been instituted since July 2023 at approximately half the EU/EEA cap. Note, that the SIM card must be first activated in the home country in order to take advantage of roaming.

More information[]

  • Tethering (hot-spot use) works only in Denmark, but not in roaming!
  • APN: data.lycamobile.dk
  • Username: lmdk (that's lowcase L, not capital I)
  • Password: plus
  • Website in English: https://www.lycamobile.dk/en/

Discontinued Prepaid Offers[]

Oister[]

Oister

Oister is a MVNO on the Tre network. In mid-2021, after the Danish prepaid SIM registration law was proposed (not even passed), they have also decided to exit the prepaid business and become contract only.

Tdc

Yousee (TDC)[]

TDC is the largest network in Denmark. Like other network operators in Denmark it's mostly geared to postpaid customers. They marketed their consumer operations under the label youSee.

Yousee

TDC stopped selling prepaid products as of February 2020, and after that date it was no longer possible to activate or to recharge a prepaid SIM. With that they are the last Danish mobile network operator to stop offering prepaid products under own brand. Existing SIM's and balance can be used until expiry date.

Vectone Mobile[]

Vectone

Vectone Denmark has ended its activities on 15/MAY/2018, after filing bankruptcy.

Telia[]

Telia

From 28/FEB/2017 Telia has stopped selling prepaid products and from 30/APR/2017 prepaid service has been closed and Telia prepaid SIMs stopped working.

Telenor[]

Telenor

Telenor Denmark has discontinued the sales of prepaid cards and top-ups as of 31/MAR/2016, although any outstanding credit will remain valid until the normal expiry date. This discontinuation of selling of prepaid cards as well as of top-up vouchers is also affecting the MVNO's using the Telenor network: CBB Mobil, One Mobile and Colour Mobile.

One Mobile []

Onemobile.dk.logo

Telenor Denmark announced from April 2016, kiosks and grocery shops will no longer sell One Mobile cards and recharges (see Telenor above) although any outstanding credit will remain valid until the normal expiry date.

CBB Mobile[]

CBB mobil

Telenor Denmark announced from April 2016, kiosks and grocery shops will no longer sell CBB Mobile cards and recharges (see Telenor above) although any outstanding credit will remain valid until the normal expiry date.

Tre[]

Three

Tre only operates an own network on 3G and 4G, but it offers national roaming on 2G. This roaming was changed in early 2016 from TDC to Telia . While Tre stopped providing all local prepaid activities back in 2011, and Oister (see above) followed them in 2021. If you wish to use their network, the WHSmith in the arrivals area of Copenhagen airport sells 3UK SIMs pre-loaded with one month of unlimited voice/SMS/50GB data valid in Denmark as well as all 3 UK "Go Roam" destinations for DKK 259. As this is a Three UK SIM and not a native Tre Denmark SIM, refer to Three's United Kingdom article for further details like activation time and topping up the SIM after the initial 30 day bundle expires (note that further top-ups will be subject to a 12 GB per month fair use limit outside the UK).

International eSIM plans[]

Given that local SIMs for Denmark are relatively scarce to find, international eSIM plans are a popular alternative. This section focuses on the popular international eSIM providers that offer national plans for Denmark (these plans are not valid elsewhere in the EU/EEA). They do not require details that only Danish residents are expected to have, and thus are easily accessible to non-Danish residents, although they tend to be on the pricier side.

Airalo[]

Price(in US$) Data(in GB) Duration(in days) Network 5G? Calls SMS Effective cost(in US$ per GB*)
4.50 1 7 Telenor 4.50
7.00 2 15 3.50
9.50 3 30 3.17
13.00 5 2.60
21.00 10 2.10
32.00 20 1.60

Ubigi[]

Price(in US$) Data(in GB) Duration(in days) Network 5G? Calls SMS Effective cost(in US$ per GB*)
7.00 3 15 Telia 2.33
15.00 10 30 1.50

Holafly[]

Holafly offers unlimited internet for Denmark, although local networks may impose a fair use policy data of 3 GB per day, after which data will be throttled until the next day in the plan.

Price(in US$) Duration(in days) 5G? Calls(in minutes) SMS Effective cost(in US$ per GB*)
19 5 60 1.27
27 7 1.29
34 10 1.13
47 15 1.04
54 20 0.90
64 30 0.71
87 60 1.45
99 90 0.37

*based on a 3GB per day expected fair use policy

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