Key takeaways
- Country codes and number formats differ: Sweden and Finland write a leading 0 nationally, which must be removed in E.164.
- Icelandic letters such as ð and þ can push an SMS into Unicode and give it more segments.
- The consent rules rest on the same EU basis, but exceptions, definitions and practice vary, so check each country.
- “Direct access” is a claim you should ask to have documented, country by country and operator by operator.
- Rules change, so check each market before you send, and again regularly.
What differs between the Nordic countries?
This is what most often causes trouble when you send from Denmark. Rules and practice change, so use the overview as a starting point and not as the final word.
| Country | Country code | Time compared with Denmark | Number format (generally) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | +45 | Same time | 8 digits, no leading 0 |
| Sweden | +46 | Same time | Written nationally with a leading 0, which is dropped in E.164 (070… becomes +4670…) |
| Norway | +47 | Same time | 8 digits, no leading 0 |
| Finland | +358 | One hour ahead | Written nationally with a leading 0, which is dropped in E.164; the length varies |
| Iceland | +354 | Uses UTC all year: one hour behind in winter, two hours in summer | 7 digits |
What applies to sender names, language and characters?
Alphanumeric sender names (up to 11 characters) are widely used in the Nordics, but whether and how they must be registered, and how they are displayed, can vary by country and operator. A sender name cannot receive replies, so use a number if recipients must be able to answer.
- Write in the recipient’s language: Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are similar but not identical, and Finnish and Icelandic are quite different. In Finland, Swedish is also an official language next to Finnish
- Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish letters (æ, ø, å, ä, ö) are in the GSM-7 character set and normally cause no problem
- Icelandic letters such as ð and þ, and most accented characters (á, í, ó, ú, ý), are outside GSM-7 and push the message into Unicode, where a segment holds fewer characters
- Typographic characters pasted from Word, such as curly quotation marks and long dashes, can also push a message into Unicode
What applies to consent, timing and opt-out?
The rules rest largely on the same EU basis (Norway and Iceland take part through the EEA Agreement), and the starting point is generally that marketing by SMS requires the recipient’s prior consent. Exceptions, definitions and practice differ, for example for existing customers, and they change. In Denmark the relevant law is the Marketing Practices Act (§ 10). Have each country’s rules assessed by a lawyer. This is general information and not legal advice.
- Consent: keep proof of consent per recipient, and check whether the requirements for the form and documentation of consent are the same in every country
- Message type: transactional and service messages are generally treated differently from marketing, but the line can differ
- Timing: some countries or operators have rules or norms for when marketing should be sent. Generally do not send marketing at night, and take time zones into account
- Opt-out: give a simple way to opt out in the recipient’s language, and honour it at once across all countries
What does “direct access to Nordic telecom operators” mean?
Direct access means that the provider has its own technical and commercial connection to the operator’s SMS system and does not send the message through one or more intermediaries. That can mean fewer hops, more control over sender names and delivery receipts that come from the operator itself. It is not automatically better: a direct connection with no backup is also a single route, and many providers combine direct connections with partner routes. If you ask for documentation, get answers to:
- Which operators in each Nordic country are connected directly, and which through partners
- What happens if a direct route fails: is there another route, and does traffic switch automatically
- Whether delivery receipts come from the operator or from an intermediary
- How sender names are handled and what registration is required
- Whether the answers can be put in writing in the offer or the agreement
A checklist before you send to the Nordics
- Validate and format numbers in E.164, and remove a leading 0 where the country uses one
- Check Greenland (+299) and the Faroe Islands (+298) as destinations of their own, if you have recipients there
- Settle the sender name or number per country, and test how it displays on real phones
- Write the message in the recipient’s language, and check the character set and the number of segments
- Document consent and opt-out per recipient and per country
- Get in writing which routes and connections are used for your destinations, and what happens on failure
- Check that the provider covers all the countries and channels you need (SMS, RCS, email, chat apps), so the solution is complete
- Revisit the rules regularly, because they change
How ZafeConnect fits
ZafeConnect reaches 190+ countries with direct operator connections, complemented by partner direct routes. Ask us which connections apply to your destinations. On the price list, Denmark is 0.275 DKK per SMS and basic RCS, while Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland are on the European rate of 0.45 DKK (list prices per message, excluding VAT).