Telenor Norway moved its IoT dog tracking business into a separate company, with the new venture set to take-on minority investment from DyreID and get a cash injection of NOK25 million ($2.3 million) from the operator group.

The new entity will be branded Telenor Tracking Solutions and fall under the remit of Telenor Amp, the group division overseeing a range of interests outside of the core business including its maritime, global IoT connectivity and soon-to-be-sold satellite company.

Pet tracking brand Mitt Spor was launched by the operator in 2020 and provides near real time updates of a dog’s position alongside various health statistics. It can also send alerts when an animal wearing its device moves out of a defined area.  

Telenor Amp head Dan Ouchterlony said although the tracking service had started small, “we see potential for further growth and partnerships”.

Under the new venture, the service is set to integrate the Norwegian Veterinary Association’s DyreID animal tagging system and eventually launch a cat version of the product.

“Over 1.2 million Norwegians currently live with dogs. In addition, it is estimated that we have around 700,000 owned cats in Norway,” Ouchterlony added. “There is significant market potential, and we also see great opportunities in both the Nordic region and the rest of Europe.”