Norway - land of technology! Car parks and phones!

The last day of an eventful year is finally here - who knows what 2013 will bring! Everywhere it seems, people are down-sizing, simplifying and de-cluttering their lives. Whether that is a reaction to economic stress or other things I'm not sure - however, suffice to say Norway seems to be as bullish as ever on the economic stakes and there has been no visible downturn here.

They have almost finished the second stage of the tramway (Bybanen) to the airport - it has now reached Lagunen, a major out of town shopping centre/mall. Compared to centres I have visited elsewhere in the world it is rather petite, with a small selection of shops covering your basic needs, i.e. sports clothes, wet weather gear, boots, 2 of the largest food supermarkets in Bergen (OK together they might just have the same number of check outs as a regular supermarket in the UK, but they are big shops compared to the general size of store), a furnitures store and lots of clothes shops. The number of clothes and shoe shops here never ceases to amaze me - some sell very fashionable things, but I rarely see anyone wearing them. 4 inch stacked heels on our paths - you must be joking. With a population of 250,000 I wouldn't have thought there was a large enough customer base to support all these shops anyway. Yet someone must buy the stuff!

I digress - this post is about technology! Well, at Lagunen they have had to refurbish the underground car park as part of the tramway update and they have introduced a really smart system. Over each parking bay is a bright LED light, which shines red if the space is full, green if it is empty and blue for disabled bays. Really smart, no more having to drive up and down to see if there is a space, just a quick sweep across the ceiling will show you where empty bays are! It's the first time I have seen this - even Trevor was impressed!

As with anywhere in Norway, even though you are half way underground surrounded by mountains you can still get a signal (and it's a good one!) on your mobile phone. There are very few places here where you can't get a signal - they tend to be up in the mountains far away from the madding crowds! However Telenor is working hard to remedy the problem by putting up more masts and improving fibreoptic cable for data traffic.

According to Telenor, which has the legal responsibility of providing everyone with a workable telephone connection, by 2018 there will no longer be any landline telephones in the country. Apparently, fewer and fewer people are using landlines anyway, and Telenor are not going to improve the service there. Instead, they want everyone to use mobile phones or cable networks to make calls on. To prove their point, they are cutting all landlines in Modalen, Hordaland and parts of Lillehammer by 31st August 2013, and gradually the rest of the country will be cut off too so tough if you want to keep your old phone!

A spokesperson for the company was aware that this might be an age issue! He insisted that the style of telephone which will be offered to older cutomers will not differ radically from what they have today and will be just as easy to use. They have specifically kept an old design which has a large screen and easy to see push buttons. I hope it won/t be too much of a shock for people - I have a father-in-law who finds it difficult enough to use the hands free phone, and absolutely refuses to have anything to do with a mobile phone!

In some ways it is amazing that this mountainous, thinly populated country can achieve such a sophisticated communications network, but they also suffer from the same problems with regard to communication as many other countries. For example, there is no coordinated swift response call centre to coordinate actions required in the event of a major disaster such as a plane crash or terrorist attack. Everything is coordinated locally, through individual call centres that are often manned by one lone police officer. Communication in gneral between police districts, including the exchange of information after the event, is still painfully non-existent even after the Uttøya massacre.

Ah well, I am sure as the message starts to get through to the mountain villages currently cut off (literally and telephonically!) from the outside world by landslides and avalanches (yes not everyone here has had a good Christmas unfortunately) some will raise their voices to complain, but the decision appears to have been taken alrready. The state owned telephone company knows exactly what is best for you! Wonder if NAV (the benefits agency) will start offering cheap mobile deals to its clients as part of their social entitlement? Another 5 øre to add to the tax burden then!!

Happy New Year!