Editing Telecommunications in Iceland (section)

== History ==
The first [[submarine communications cable|submarine telegraph cable]] connection to the British Isles reached [[Seyðisfjörður]] in Iceland in 1906 by the [[GN Store Nord|Great Northern Telegraph Co]]. Around the same time telephone communication was opened between [[Reykjavík|Reykjavik]] and nearby [[Hafnarfjörður]]. By 1911 a telephone line connected Reykjavik in the west of Iceland to Seyðisfjörður in the east via [[Akureyri]] in the north. A line to the [[Vestmannaeyjar]] was constructed a few years later, and by 1929 a line along the south coast of the island connected Reykjavik to Seyðisfjörður via [[Vík í Mýrdal|Vík]]. A [[teleprinter]] service was introduced to the island in 1930.<ref name="Naval Intelligence 398-399">{{cite book |title=Iceland |date=July 1942 |publisher=Naval Intelligence Division |pages=398–399 |url=https://archive.org/details/b32168147/page/398/mode/2up |access-date=25 April 2023}}</ref>

As of 1933, there were 55 telephones for every 1000 inhabitants on the island. The first short-wave radio station was established in Iceland in 1935–36, linking the country up to international [[Radiotelephone|radio-telephone]] services. By January 1936 there were 106 radio-licence holders for every 1000 Icelandic inhabitants.<ref name="Northern Countries 150">{{cite book |title=The Northern Countries In World Economy Denmark Finland Iceland Norway Sweden |date=1937 |publisher=Delegations For The Promotion Of Economic Co-operation Between The Northern Countries |page=150 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.74275/page/n163/mode/2up |access-date=25 April 2023}}</ref> Due to the [[Icelandic name|Icelandic naming system]], people were listed by their first name in the [[telephone directory]], and not by their last name (which is usually a [[Patronymic|patronym]]).

The first [[automatic telephone exchange]]s opened in Reykjavík and Hafnafjörður in 1932, and by 1976 all towns had automatic telephone exchanges.

In 1962, the SCOTICE (to Scotland) and ICECAN (Canada) [[Coaxial cable|coaxial]] [[Submarine communications cable|submarine telephone cables]] were put into use, greatly increasing reliability and capacity of international telephone and telegraph traffic as well as opening up [[telex]] services for the first time. These new cables rendered the original 1906 telegraph cable obsolete and it was taken out of use. They had a capacity of 32 and 24 telephone circuits respectively.

In 1980, the first [[ground station|satellite ground station]] was opened in Iceland, called Skyggnir. Initially connecting to the [[Intelsat]] system, most international telephone and telex traffic now used satellite communications. These new ground stations enabled [[International direct dialing|International Direct Dialling]], as well as allowing Iceland to access [[Time shifting|time-shifted]] as well as [[Live television|live television broadcast]] material from abroad, including Iceland's participation in [[Eurovision Song Contest|Eurovision]] in 1986. Iceland's first internet connection was via satellite in 1986 with a 300–1200 bit/s [[UUCP]] link to Amsterdam. By 1987 the older coaxial submarine cables SCOTICE and ICECAN were taken out of use after a secondary backup ground station opened near [[Höfn]] in eastern Iceland, leaving Iceland solely dependent on satellite communications for international traffic during this period.

The first [[telephone exchange|digital telephone exchange]] was opened in 1984 and all telephone exchanges were digitalised in the country by 1995. By 1986 all rural shared [[Party line (telephony)|party lines]] were upgraded to individual lines.

In 1986, [[mobile telephony]] was available for the first time using an [[Nordic Mobile Telephone|NMT]] [[1G|1G (first generation)]] network, followed by [[GSM]] services in 1994 and [[SMS]] messaging in 1997, followed by [[Multimedia Messaging Service|MMS]] in 2003.

In 1991, a fibre ring was completed that circles the country, roughly following the route of Iceland's [[Route 1 (Iceland)|ring road]] (Route 1), passing through most towns and cities. It was constructed by the Icelandic Government and [[NATO]] to link radar stations of the [[Iceland Air Defence System]], as well as to enhance domestic telecommunications. It consists of 8 fibres and is still in use as of 2023.

In 1994, the first [[fiber-optic communication|fibre]] submarine cable, [[CANTAT-3]], reached Iceland linking it to Canada, Germany, UK and Denmark with a capacity of 7.5&nbsp;Gbit/s. This greatly increased bandwidth and allowed internet connections to become more widely available.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nafn Skóla |title=Saga loftskeyta- og símaþjónustu á Íslandi |url=https://www.johanna.is/uploads/1/2/5/8/12588371/25-saga_simans-unnid.pdf}}</ref>

As bandwidth and reliability demands grew in the 21st century, more fibre submarine cables were launched to Iceland: [[FARICE-1|FARICE]] in 2003 to the UK and Faroe Islands; [[Danice|DANICE]] in 2009 to Denmark; [[Greenland Connect]] in 2009 to Greenland and Canada and lastly IRIS in 2023 to Ireland. With multiple redundant submarine fibre routes, the satellite ground station Skyggnir was taken out of use in 2005 and [[CANTAT-3]] became defunct in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Skyggnir felldur – Myndasafn mbl.is |url=https://www.mbl.is/myndasafn/mynd/149338/ |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=www.mbl.is |language=is}}</ref>

In the mid-1990s, the telecom market was opened to competition, breaking the state-owned [[Síminn|Iceland Telecom]]'s monopoly, and it was later privatised in 2005.

In 1994, [[dial-up Internet access|dial-up internet]] services became available; in 1999 [[ADSL]] services launched, followed by [[VDSL]] in 2009. [[Fiber to the x|Fibre to the home]] services began rolling out in 2004 and had expanded to 90% of the population by 2022.

In 2010, the [[NMT 450|NMT]] (1G) mobile network was shut down. [[3G]] launched in 2006, [[4G]] in 2013 and [[5G]] in 2020.

In 2018, [[telegraphy|telegram]] services were discontinued.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-10-01 |title=Rúmlega 100 ára saga skeytasendinga á enda |url=https://www.ruv.is/frettir/innlent/rumlega-100-ara-saga-skeytasendinga-a-enda/ |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=RÚV}}</ref>

Analogue [[public switched telephone network|PSTN]]/[[plain old telephone service|POTS]] and [[ISDN]] telephone services (along with [[Dial-up Internet access|dial-up internet]]) were phased out from 2020 to 2024, replaced by VoIP services. Copper-based DSL services continue to be available.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.fjarskiptastofa.is/fjarskiptastofa/stjornsysla/akvardanir-og-urskurdir/akvordun/%C3%9Arlausnir/3-2024 |title=Alþjónustuframlag til Neyðarlínunnar ohf. |trans-title=General service contribution to [company] Neyðarlínan ohf. |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=www.fjarskiptastofa.is}}</ref> In April 2024, [[Míla]] accounced plans for a complete copper shut down by 2028, including [[digital subscriber line|DSL]] services,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Niðurlagning koparheimtaugakerfis Mílu |url=https://www.mila.is/um-milu/frettasafn/nidurlagning-koparheimtaugakerfis-milu |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=Míla ehf |language=is}}</ref> fully transitioning Icelandic telecoms to fibre based services.<ref>Electronic Communications Office of Iceland, 2024. (Case no. 2022020045) https://www.eftasurv.int/cms/sites/default/files/documents/gopro/Appendix%20B_Results%20of%20national%20consultation%20on%20markets%20M3ab_Public.pdf</ref> [[2G]] and [[3G]] services are due to be shut down by year end 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Electronic Communications Office of Iceland |title=Lokun 2G og 3G farsímaþjónustu |url=https://www.fjarskiptastofa.is/fjarskiptastofa/tolfraedi-og-gagnasafn/frettasafn/frett/fr%C3%A9ttir/lokun-2g-og-3g-farsimathjonustu |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=www.fjarskiptastofa.is}}</ref>