Nowadays we are online all the time; from early morning to late night. We check our social media, we check the weather and we read and send e-mails. When going abroad – unless you are a part of the EU and have a mobile subscription with data abroad included – you are often charged with incredibly high prices for data. Luckily, if you are a tourist in Denmark, there are several ways you can get internet access.
Mobile broadband
Mobile broadband is one of the possibilities you have to access internet in Denmark, if you have to use your computer as well. Mobile broadband is transportable internet provided to you through a SIM card that you have to insert in a USB-dongle or in a small transportable router. This allows you to have internet for both your phone and computer everywhere you are, and is a brilliant solution for the tourist who is in need of their computer.
In Denmark we have 3 providers with their own network: 3, Telia/Telenor and TDC. It is very important that you check where the providers are covering, because the coverage and internet speed can vary a lot depending on where you are in the country, and the internet speeds of 2G, 3G and 4G differs a lot in terms of what you can do with it.
Even though there are only three providers with their own network, there are a lot of ISP providers in Denmark. You can see a full list here.
Beware that some of the providers do not offer mobile broadband, if you do not have a danish social security number. The majority of the providers do offer it, and if you go to one of their stores they are very helpful in setting the internet up for you. There is a location map of all their shops on all the providers’ webpages. Take as an example TDC, Telenor, Telia, 3 and Oister.
In order to obtain mobile broadband you will need to buy a USB-modem or a wireless router, and a Danish SIM card. The best option will be to buy a pre-paid SIM card with a limited amount of data on it. This will be sufficient to answer e-mails, check the news and so forth.
Pre-paid SIM
If you are only interested in data on the phone, and you also want to be able to call and text, you should get a pre-paid SIM card. There are a lot of possibilities in this area and several providers are selling these data packages in Denmark. The two most prominent providers of pre-paid SIM cards including both data, calling and texting are Lebara and Lyca Mobile. Pre-paid SIM is an excellent solution for short term stays where you will only need to access internet on your mobile phone.
Prices of pre-paid SIM cards
Buying a pre-paid SIM card is often cheaper than paying roaming fees, and here is a quick overview of the prices of calling, texting and using data with a pre-paid SIM card in Denmark:
| Prices of pre-paid SIM card solutions | |||||||
| Subscription and sign up fee | Calling price per minute / fee per call | Texting price per SMS | Internet price per GB | ||||
 |
19 kr. | 0.4 kr. 0 kr. |
0.1 kr. | 70 kr. | |||
 |
0 kr. | 0 kr. 1.29 kr. |
0.19 kr. | 90 kr. | |||
 |
0 kr. | 0.19 kr. 0.99kr. |
0.49 kr. | 90 kr. | |||
 |
114 kr. | 1 kr. 0 kr. |
0.2 kr. | 250 kr. | |||
 |
1 kr. | 0.49 kr. 0 kr. |
0.08 kr. | 490 kr. | |||
 |
99 kr. | 0.59 kr. 0 kr. |
0.08 kr. | 490 kr. | |||
 |
99 kr. | 0.59 kr. 0 kr. |
0.19 kr. | 500 kr. | |||
 |
104 kr. | 0.49 kr. 0 kr. |
0 kr. | 500 kr.
300 MB included for free |
|||
 |
50 kr. | 0.48 kr. 0 kr. |
0.08 kr. | 1000 kr. | |||
 |
20 kr. | 0.39 kr. 0 kr. |
0.19 kr. | 1000 kr. | |||
 |
38 kr. | 0.59kr. 0 kr. |
0.2 kr. | 1000 kr. | |||
 |
29 kr. | 0.59 kr. 0 kr. |
0.2 kr. | 2000 kr. | |||
 |
49 kr. | 0.59 kr. 0 kr. |
0.2 kr. | 2000 kr. | |||
 |
49 kr. | 0.39 kr. 0.29 kr. |
0.16 kr. | 5000 kr. | |||
 |
99 kr. | 0.6 kr. 0 kr. |
0.08 kr. | 5000 kr. | |||
 |
198 kr. | 0.55 kr. 0.49 kr. |
0.19 kr. | 10,000 kr. | |||
| Data from: 05/09/2017 Note: Certain subscriptions have a minimum usage of between 10 kr. and 99 kr. |
|||||||
Using public facilities
In Denmark there are a lot of options to get internet access – without having to pay for it. In almost every city there is a library (in Danish:”bibliotek”) where you can either borrow a computer to go online, or access free wireless internet. Furthermore almost every restaurant, hotel and AirBnB in Denmark has free wifi that is accesable to everybody. You just have to ask for the password. Somewhere – like hotels and airports – you might have to pay a small fee to use the internet.
There is also free internet in the trains in Denmark, so if you are not interested in paying for internet, or are just in Denmark for a very short time, there are a lot of possibilities for you to access wireless internet for free.
The Danish Government has, furthermore, made a legislation that allows municipalities to provide free internet for tourists in the city center. Some municipalities have already adopted this, and that is also a great opportunity to access the internet.
Further information for tourists
If you are going to Denmark as a turist and are curious about more than just internet, you might want to visit the official Danish tourist organization’s website Visitdenmark.com. It is available in several languages.
