Siminn

Síminn is the privatised sector of Iceland's previously state owned incumbent postal and telecom operator, Póstur og Sími and later, Landssíminn. The Iceland State Telephone Service was founded the same year as telephone technology arrived in Iceland, in 1906. In 1935, the telephone and postal services were consolidated. In 1998, they were again separated, and the company Landssíminn, was split from Íslandspóstur .

1906 Telegraph Cable

In 1906, a submarine telegraph cable was laid by the Great Northern Telegraph Co. from Scotland through the Faroe Islands to Iceland, where it came ashore on the east coast at Seyðisfjörður. In conjunction a telegraph and telephone line, was laid from the landing point to the capital city Reykjavík.

Telephony

The people of Reykjavík were quick to adopt the telephone. In 1912, the total number of telephone users in the town was 300. In 1932, the first automatic telephone exchanges in Iceland were opened. The laying of telephone lines in rural areas was completed around 1960. In 1986, all telephones in the country were connected to automatic telephone exchanges. The laying of fibre optic cables around the country began in 1985. The first digital telephone exchanges were opened in 1984, and this technology extended to all telephone exchanges 11 years later. In 2022, Síminn has begun the shutdown of the PSTN/POTS service, transferring customers to VoIP services, intending to be completed by the end of 2022.

Direct international dialling

Short-wave telephone communications with other countries were opened in 1935. The submarine cables, SCOTICE and ICECAN, between Scotland and Iceland and Canada and Iceland were opened in 1962. The cable allowed international subsea telephone calls and telex services to be established in Iceland. In 1980, the Skyggnir satellite ground station came online, and telephone calls to other countries then went via satellite and international direct dialling to other countries became possible for the first time. In 1994, a new submarine cable, CANTAT-3, was opened.

Mobile Telephony

The 1G NMT system went into operation in 1986 , and the 2G GSM system launching in 1994. 3G was launched in 2007, 4G in 2013 and mid-band 5G in 2021

Internet Services

In 1998, ADSL broadband was put into operation by Landssíminn. In early 2004, Iceland Telecom deployed its IPTV service to selected areas with ADSL service. The IPTV service includes Live TV and Video on Demand a move to answer customers' requests for bundled television, broadband and telephony services, which would signal Iceland Telecom's entry into the world of "triple-play" , distributing digital television content via the ADSL system. In 2009, Síminn launched its 'Ljósnet' service built on VDSL and FTTH fibre technology. Initially offering 50Mb services, later upgraded to 100Mb for VDSL and 1000Mb for FTTH/GPON services. FTTH services reached 105,000 households in 2021.

Privatization and sale of Míla

In July 2005, the Icelandic government privatized Landssími Íslands and sold its 98.8% share to Skipti ehf. In December 2005, three companies, Landssími Íslands, Íslenska sjónvarpsfélagið and the parent company, Skipti ehf., merged and the name was subsequently changed to Síminn hf. In March 2007 the following proposals of Siminn's board were approved: A new parent company called Skipti hf. was introduced and Síminn was split into three companies: Síminn hf. the main operating company; Fasteignafélagið Jörfi ehf, a real estate company, and Míla ehf which owns and operates the national trunk and access networks in Iceland. The new structural change took effect from 31 October 2006.In 2021, Míla ehf., Síminn's infrastructure arm was sold to Ardian, raising 46 billion ISK, raising questions about national security infrastructure being sold to foreign investors.