Helge Steen-Johnsen, Chief Revenue Officer at Telenor Linx, shares his take on this week’s MEF Leadership Forum Nordics 2025 which took place at the stunning Telenor Headquarters in Oslo for its third year, where Members and guests explored the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping business messaging, security, and emerging technologies across the Nordic market. Plus – check out a selections of photos from the event and the MEF Meetup below.
What a fantastic event it was! On May 26th and 27th, Telenor proudly hosted the third annual MEF Leadership Forum Nordic at our headquarters in Fornebu, Oslo. Nearly 90 industry professionals gathered, including representatives from Mobile Network Operators, CPaaS providers (formerly known as SMS aggregators), telco industry vendors, independent consultants, and other key industry players.
The packed agenda covered critical industry topics ranging from Rich Communication Services (RCS/RBM) to tackling fraud and maintaining industry integrity. A core theme was clear: collaboration is essential. At Telenor, we deeply value the efforts of the Mobile Ecosystem Forum and believe strongly in these opportunities to unite industry players, exchange knowledge, and work collectively to improve user experiences—free from fraud.
One prominent discussion focused on RCS/RBM, highlighting widespread anticipation and agreement about the importance of Apple’s expected launch of RCS in the Nordic region. Industry consensus suggests that this launch is vital for RCS to truly flourish and become a dominant messaging channel.
A notable moment came during Tor from Campaign Registry Inc.’s presentation, humorously but pointedly addressing the unspoken challenges of industry fraud, metaphorically described as “people driving around in white vans without company logos and with fake number plates.” This candid moment reminded everyone of the critical need for transparency and high ethical standards in our industry. It’s essential to build security directly into our products to ensure robust and trustworthy services for all users.
Nick Millward, MEF’s Programme Director for Business Messaging said about the event: “MEF extends its sincere appreciation to Telenor & Telenor Linx for hosting such a successful Nordic Leadership Forum in Oslo. The insightful discussions and strong sense of community demonstrated the region’s commitment to advancing the mobile ecosystem to support local operations and providing innovative solutions at a global level. We eagerly anticipate continued collaboration and future success.”
A huge thank you once again to the MEF team and to all attendees for their enthusiastic participation. Perhaps next year, we’ll meet in Denmark?
