Telenor Makes the World More Democratic - The Nordic Page

10.03.2011 - Oslo

Telenor Makes the World More Democratic

Telenor is Norway's best contribution for more democracy in the world, "says NTNU Professor. The claim is based on studies of the media landscape in 137 countries.

Photo : Telenor | Telenor Group is mostly an international mobile technology carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand.

The power of the internet in communicating and interacting with large groups against suppression was comprehended in the recent uprising in North Africa. After studying the media landscape in 137 countries, the political science professor Indra de Soysa from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) concluded to the same obvious relationship between the internet and freedom of press. In this frame, Soysa argued that Telenor is the best contribution for more democracy in the world. According to his study, the violation of human rights is less frequent in the countries with access to mobile technologies and the internet, compared to the countries where only TV and radio are the main means of media. He noted that TV is especially bad for human rights, because the government can feed the population with propaganda. On the other hand, Internet and mobile technologies have the opposite effect, as they provide a free channel to people.

Telenor is the telecommunications company of Norway. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international mobile technology carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand. It is currently ranked as the sixth largest mobile phone operator in the world, with more than 203 million subscribers.