Iceland coverage

What the Iceland numbers mean

Two numbers matter and only one of them is the one every seller quotes. The typical speed, 81 Mbps, tells you what a good moment looks like.

The tenth percentile, 22 Mbps, is the one that matters. It is the speed in the worst tenth of the day, when the cell above the station is full and everybody around you is on it too. A country with a high median and a low floor is a country that works beautifully right up until the moment you actually need it.

If the trip depends on video calls or tethering, plan around the busy figure rather than the typical one.

What happens in Iceland when the network is busy

Congestion is not a fault, it is a Tuesday evening. The question is what your eSIM can do about it, and for most travel eSIMs the answer is nothing: one wholesale agreement per country, one network, and no way out except buying a second eSIM from somebody else while standing in the street.

Here, Orbislo traffic runs over Siminn and Vodafone. When the network you are on degrades we move you to another one, mid trip, without you asking, and tell you afterwards rather than interrupting you at the time.

Mobile operators in Iceland

• Nova: Nova holds an Icelandic mobile licence issued on 21 March 2023 for the 800, 900, 1800, 2100 and 3600 MHz bands, carrying conditions that include continuous high speed coverage along the main roads.
• Siminn: Siminn holds an Icelandic mobile licence issued on 21 March 2023 for the 900, 1800, 2100 and 3600 MHz bands, with the same trunk road coverage conditions as the other two network operators.
• Syn: Syn holds an Icelandic mobile licence issued on 21 March 2023 for the 800, 900, 1800, 2100 and 3600 MHz bands, making it one of the three companies running Iceland's public mobile networks.

Older networks in Iceland

• Iceland's 2G and 3G mobile networks were finally switched off on 1 June 2026, after a phase out run by the operators and coordinated by the regulator, so only 4G and 5G service remains across the country.
• After the 2G and 3G shutdown, Iceland's infrastructure ministry noted reports of weaker mobile signal in rural areas and asked the regulator to finish measuring network reach now that the older networks are closed.

Network notes for Iceland

• A separate 700 MHz licence issued in May 2022 belongs to Oryggisfjarskipti, the company building Iceland's emergency and safety network, and delays in its funding pushed back the road coverage timetable for all operators.